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PALGRAVE STUDIES IN ECONOMIC HISTORY
Historical Turning Points in

Spanish Economic Growth and
Development, 1808–2008
Edited by
Concha Betrán · Maria A. Pons
Palgrave Studies in Economic History
Series Editor
Kent Deng
London School of Economics
London, UK
Palgrave Studies in Economic History is designed to illuminate and
enrich our understanding of economies and economic phenomena of the
past. The series covers a vast range of topics including financial history,
labour history, development economics, commercialisation, urbanisa-
tion, industrialisation, modernisation, globalisation, and changes in
world economic orders.
More information about this series at

http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14632
Concha Betrán • María A. Pons
Editors
Historical Turning
Points in Spanish
Economic Growth
and Development,
1808–2008
Editors
Concha Betrán María A. Pons
University of Valencia University of Valencia
Valencia, Spain Valencia, Spain
ISSN 2662-6497 ISSN 2662-6500 (electronic)

Palgrave Studies in Economic History
ISBN 978-3-030-40909-8 ISBN 978-3-030-40910-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40910-4
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Acknowledgements
This book is the result of the collaboration among a group of economic

historians over the last ten years in different research projects on financial
crises and crises in general. We must thank the Spanish Ministry of
Economics and Competitiveness (projects: 2010–2012, ECO2009-08791,
“Financial crises: Past, Present and Future”; 2013–2016, ECO2012-33337,
“Economic Policy Responses to Crises. The Spanish Experience. Lessons”;
2015–2019, ECO2015-66782-P, “Economic crises: Changes and
Challenges”) and the Generalitat Valenciana (project: AICO/2018/130,
Research Group Economic History Valencia) for their financial support.
We are most grateful to all the contributors to this book. It would not
have been possible to complete this project without the inspiration and
advice of Blanca Sánchez-Alonso, Anna Carreras, Miguel Martorell,
Javier Silvestre and the members of the Department of Economic
Analysis, in particular the area of Economic History (EH-Valencia), who
participated in a discussion of the chapters in a workshop held in
November 2018 in Valencia. We would also like to thank two anony-
mous referees for their very helpful suggestions and especially to Emma
Porritt for her final review.
v
Contents
1 Introduction 1
Concha Betrán and María A. Pons
2 1808: The Napoleonic Wars and the Loss of the American

Colonies 15
Francisco Comín
3 1898: The “Fin de Siècle” Crisis 53

Pablo Martín-Aceña and Inés Roldán de Montaud
4 1936. Frustrated Hopes: The Great Depression,

the Second Republic and the Civil War 89
Concha Betrán
5 1959: The Stabilization Plan and the End of Autarky123

Elena Martínez-Ruiz and María A. Pons
vii
viii Contents
6 1977: Hopes Fulfilled—Building Democracy in Turbulent

Economic Times159
Joaquim Cuevas and María A. Pons
7 2008: Spain in the Eye of the Perfect Storm195

Jose Ignacio Conde-Ruiz and Elena Martínez-Ruiz
8 Epilogue231
Index255
Notes on Contributors
Concha Betrán is a professor in the Economic Analysis Department at

the University of Valencia, Spain. Her research interests are in economic
history and different aspects related to industrialization (productivity and
industrial location), globalization (inequality, trade) and financial crises.
Francisco Comín is professor of Economic History at the University of

Alcalá, Madrid, Spain. His research interests are focused on the history of
economic and financial crises, public debt crises, tax systems, govern-
ment expenditures, state-owned enterprises, social security and sav-
ings banks.
Jose Ignacio Conde-Ruiz is a professor at Universidad Complutense de

Madrid, and Deputy Director of Fundación de Estudios de Economía
Aplicada (FEDEA), Spain. He has worked in the prime minister’s
Economic Bureau as a General Director for Economic Policy (2008–2010).
His research interests are political economy, public economics (labour
market institutions and pensions) and macroeconomics.
Joaquim Cuevas is an associate professor in the Economic Analysis

Department at the University of Valencia, Spain. His research and teach-
ing are focused in economic history and financial and business history,
ix
x Notes on Contributors
including banking and monetary history, industrial and regional

development.
Inés Roldán de Montaud is a researcher in the CSIC, Instituto de

Historia, Madrid, Spain. Her research interests relate mainly to Spanish
colonial history in the nineteenth century, specially to financial and fiscal
aspects.
Pablo Martín-Aceña is a professor in the Economic Department at the

University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain. His research is focused on economic
history, particularly in financial and monetary history. He has also worked
in fields such as business and entrepreneurial history.
Elena Martínez-Ruiz is a professor in the Department of Economics at

the University of Alcalá, Spain. Her research interests are in economic
history and she has written extensively on economic aspects of the Spanish
Civil War, Francoist economic policy, monetary history and finan-
cial crises.
María A. Pons is an associate professor in the Economic Analysis

Department at the University of Valencia, Spain. Her area of specializa-
tion is economic history, with special emphasis on monetary and banking
history, financial crises and globalization.
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Real GDP per capita in 2011 US$ in logs. (Source: Bolt et al.
(2018))11
Fig. 2.1 Public budget deficit on GDP (%). (Source: Comín (2014a)) 30
Fig. 2.2 Ten-year Government Bond Yield (%). (Source: Comín (2016)) 31
Fig. 2.3 Protection and Openness rate (%). (Source: Tena (2005)) 39
Fig. 2.4 Number of banks of issue and credit societies. (Source: Cuevas
(2018))41
Fig. 3.1 Foreign trade: exports and the trade balance, 1880–1913.
(Source: Estadísticas del Comercio Exterior de España)63
Fig. 3.2 Prices and the peseta exchange rate. (Source: Martín-Aceña
and Pons (2005)) 72
Fig. 4.1 Spain’s real GDP per capita compared with the US, the UK,
France and Germany, 1929–1935. 1929=100. (Note: Own
calculations from Maddison Project Database (2018), real
GDP per capita in 2011 US$ (rgdpnapc), 1929=100. Source:
Maddison Project Database, version 2018, in Bolt et al. (2018)) 95
Fig. 4.2 Trend in Spain’s industrial, agricultural, construction and
services GDPs, 1929–1935. (Note: GDP for Agriculture,
Industry, Construction and Services, volume indices of gross
value added, 1929=100. Source: Prados de la Escosura (2017)) 96
Fig. 4.3 Exchange rates in relation to the dollar, pound sterling and
franc. (Note: The peseta value of each currency, 1920=1.
Source: Martín-Aceña and Pons (2005)) 97
xi
xii List of Figures
Fig. 4.4 Imports, exports and agrarian exports and trade balance.
(Notes: All values in millions of 1913 pesetas. Trade is special
trade. Source: Tena (2005) and Barciela et al. (2005)) 100
Fig. 4.5 Spain’s central bank discount interest rates compared with the
US, the UK and France. (Source: For the UK and France,
Forero-Laverde (2018); for Spain, Comín and Martín-Aceña
(1984); for the US, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis,
Economic Data) 102
Fig. 4.6 Spain’s public budget-to-GDP ratio (%) compared with the
US, the UK and France. (Source: Jordà, Schularick and Taylor
(2017), datasetR4 (Release 4, May 2019)) 103
Fig. 5.1 Current account imbalances on GDP (%), 1950–1964.
(Source: Spain, Tena (2005); other countries, Jordà,
Schularick and Taylor (2017) 130
Fig. 5.2 Consumer Price 1952–1957 (Average annual change, %).
(Source: Spain, INE; other countries, World Survey data
United Nations (1957)) 131
Fig. 5.3 CPI index 1959–1965. (Source: Spain, Maluquer (2013);
other countries, Jordà, Schularick and Taylor (2017)) 147
Fig. 6.1 CPI annual rates of growth, 1970/1979 and 1980/1984.
(Source: Spain, Maluquer (2013); other countries, Jordà,
Schularick and Taylor (2017)) 166
Fig. 6.2 Government expenditure/GDP in Europe, 1970–1990 (%).
(Source: Alcaide (1988), Bank of Spain and Eurostat) 176
Fig. 7.1 GDP growth rate (2000 constant market prices). (Source:
Boldrin et al. (2010)) 199
Fig. 7.2 Net international investment position and current account
balance as percentage of GDP. (Source: Banco de España) 206
Fig. 7.3 State expenditures and revenues as a percentage of
GDP. (Source: Eurostat) 210
Fig. 7.4 GDP growth and evolution of unemployment. (Source: Banco
de España) 219
List of Tables
Table 3.1 Share of the colonial market in total Spanish exports. (In
percentages)60
Table 3.2 The cost of the colonial wars. (In thousands of pesos (pesetas
in parentheses)) 70
Table 3.3 Debt issues in Spain and in the colonies to finance the wars 71
Table 3.4 Central government budget, 1900–1913. (Million pesetas) 75
Table 3.5 Public debt in circulation. (Million pesetas) 76
Table 5.1 Financial aid as a percentage of GDP 140
Table 5.2 Foreign sector, 1959–1973 142
Table 5.3 Educational indicators, 1960–1970 151
Table 6.1 Unemployment rates in Spain and other countries, 1969–1985 167
Table 6.2 Functional distribution of public expenditure, cumulative
annual growth rate 177
Table 8.1 Growth and development in Spain, 1800–2015 251
xiii
1
Introduction
Turning points in history alter the basic rules, institutions and attitudes
upon which a country’s past has been founded. Wars, revolutions, radical
political regime changes, lasting economic crises and even natural disas-
ters provoke ruptures and mark new departure points for the future of a
country as a whole. When a turning point occurs, the previous circum-
stances do not vanish, they simply melt down into the new in a path-
dependence dynamic, conditioning how countries face the next
challenges.
In modern times, there have been some important watersheds, such as
the French Revolution, the American War of Independence, the First
World War, the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression, the Second
World War, the Chinese Civil War or the financial crises that began in
2007–2008. For example, the French Revolution ended the feudal soci-
ety of the Ancien Régime and brought about radical political, social and
C. Betrán (*) • M. A. Pons

University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
© The Author(s) 2020 1

C. Betrán, M. A. Pons (eds.), Historical Turning Points in Spanish Economic Growth
and Development, 1808–2008, Palgrave Studies in Economic History,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40910-4_1
2 C. Betrán and M. A. Pons
economic changes that marked the beginning of a new era. The Great
Depression can also be considered a turning point: a severe, protracted
economic crisis, which led to the fragmentation of the world economy,
the emergence of totalitarian political regimes, the sinking of democracy
in many nations, the rise of the State as a major economic agent and the
implementation of new economic policies. Lastly, the recent financial
crisis that began in 2007–2008 was the first economic crisis of the twenty-
first century; this so-called Great Recession has entailed profound changes
and challenges. All these events represent a sharp break with the past and
launching pads into the future.
The aim of this book is to study the main turning points in the Spanish
economy and the related challenges it faced; in so doing, we examine the
country’s long-run economic development over more than 200 years. We
concentrate on six turning points that changed the direction of the
Spanish economy, although most of them also took place in the world
economy. For this reason, the book also compares the Spanish trajectory
with the international one. We explore the macroeconomic context in
which these turning points happened, as well as the external and internal
constraints on domestic political choices for a small country like Spain in
the different periods. This is an interesting and innovative perspective
since most of the turning points in economic history (the fall of an Ancien
Régime or the Great Depression, for instance), as well as their long-term
positive and negative consequences, are generally studied from the view-
point of core countries such as the UK, the US or Germany.
Firstly, we explain why the chosen events marked a turning point in
the Spanish economy. We also identify the economic, social or political
origin of these watersheds and determine whether they were triggered by
a domestic or an external shock. Secondly, we focus on how Spain faced
up to each turning point, the reforms that were implemented, the differ-
ences between the Spanish response and that of other countries, the
results of the policies enacted and what problems were not tackled. We
explore what ultimately changed, and what did not, considering both
international differences and the problems that Spain had in common
with other countries, as well as differences and similarities in terms of
their policies and resolutions. We consider the changes in different aspects
such as growth and structural change, the international sector and trade
1 Introduction 3
policy (openness or protectionism), the role of the State and distributive

issues, including human capital. In addition to the economic changes, we
also reflect on institutional aspects: the quality of institutions and the
shift towards either more inclusive or more extractive institutions follow-
ing a turning point. To sum up, this book takes a historical approach to
analyse the main changes that Spain underwent and the challenges it
faced at some specific points in the period 1808–2008. The ultimate
objective is to learn useful lessons from Spanish economic history in
order to better face future turning points.
We have selected the following turning points: 1808, 1898, 1936,
1959, 1977 and 2008. The perspective adopted in this book assumes that
countries face turning points or shocks that cause economic challenges;
the way countries respond to these challenges depends on the interna-
tional context as well as international and domestic restrictions, which in
turn are conditioned by the size of the country and its level of develop-
ment. Finally, these challenges spark conflicts due to competing interests
and ideas on how to tackle them; the resolution of these conflicts could
lead to either continuity or change, and to failure or success.
Some research papers have dealt with how core countries such as the
UK or the US have faced specific critical situations, including the First
World War, the Great Depression or the oil crises of the 1970s. It is
sometimes assumed that the general patterns derived from the experi-
ences of these core countries could be extrapolated to the rest of the
world. However, as we show in this book, the dynamics of the “core” and
the “periphery” differ widely, even in the case of European periphery
countries. For this reason, a deeper understanding is required of how a
small, peripheral country such as Spain tackled crucial long-run eco-
nomic changes. The book argues that Spain, as a peripheral country,
faced greater restrictions than core countries when it came to resolving its
main challenges. Consequently, the book concentrates on the fundamen-
tal vulnerabilities and restrictions that shaped the economic policy
responses adopted in each moment and their impact.
Each chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the selected turning
point and systematically sets out: (1) why the chosen event was a turning
point in the Spanish economy, the origin of this watershed moment,
whether it was triggered by a domestic or external shock, and how it
related to the international context; (2) how Spain faced up to the situa-
tion, the policies adopted in response to the shock, the reforms that were
implemented and what challenges were not tackled, the differences
between the Spanish response and that of other countries, and the restric-
tions or limitations that determined the adoption of specific measures;
(3) the results of the policies enacted, whether the end result represented
a step forward in terms of the country’s development and modernization
or whether it produced an economic setback.
The turning points chosen for analysis in this book are the following:
Chapter 2 is written by Francisco Comín and deals with the events of
1808 and the turning point they represented. The first turning point in
modern Spain’s economic history was the Napoleonic invasion of the
country, followed by the so-called War of Independence and the loss of
its colonial empire on the American continent. The invasion sparked an
economic disaster and divided the country in two. It was a complex con-
flict in which the war against the French troops was intertwined with
revolutionary movements that challenged the essence of the Ancien
Régime. The common people rallied together to drive the invaders out of
the Iberian Peninsula, while the political and social elites split apart. The
war, however, brought about significant changes: there was an accelera-
tion in the enlightenment reforms, which had begun in the last decades
of the eighteenth century, aimed at modernizing the fabric of the coun-
try; the first liberal constitution was enacted by the Cortes meeting in the
city of Cádiz; and the remains of the feudal regime were abolished.
However, as the implemented reforms were the result of a pact between
liberals and the aristocracy, the institutions were less inclusive than in
other countries and this had long-term political and economic conse-
quences. The loss of the American colonies, which had been in possession
of the Spanish Crown for more than three centuries, was a severe blow to
the economy. Trade flows and Treasury finances were both significantly
affected. Moreover, the people’s perception of their own country changed:
Spain fell from being an imperial nation to a second-rate European
power. Finally, the challenges Spain faced centred on how to change insti-
tutions to shape a more progressive society and move away from the old
institutions which had benefitted the elites of the Ancien Régime.
1 Introduction 5
Chapter 3 is about the 1898 turning point and is written by Pablo

Martín-Aceña and Inés Roldán. In 1898, in two short naval battles—one
in the Caribbean Sea and the other in the Pacific ocean—the Spanish
fleet was destroyed and Spain lost possession of its remaining colonies:
Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. That triggered the start of a polit-
ical, social and economic crisis that determined events in the following
decades. Even today, 1898 is remembered as a watershed moment in
Spanish history. The military defeat and the end of what remained of its
empire led to an identity crisis, as the nation as a whole became aware of
its weakness on the international stage. The Industrial Revolution had
failed in Spain and despite some progress, it lagged definitively behind
developed western, central and northern Europe. In an attempt to close
the gap with the most advanced European nations, a battery of economic
reforms was introduced. They included measures in the fiscal and mon-
etary spheres, government investment in infrastructure, legislation to
promote and protect strategic industries, and facilities to attract foreign
capital. The purpose of the new policies was to “regenerate” the country
and modernize its economic fabric. Not all of the reforms and policy
measures implemented were successful. Budgetary restrictions on the one
hand, and political instability, on the other, affected the results of the
“regeneration” programme. Nevertheless, despite the limitations of the
regeneration drive, the Spanish economy grew at a faster rate after 1900.
Income per capita increased, death rates fell and the population grew,
accompanied by a rapid pace of urbanization. Labour started to move
from low- to high-productivity sectors, such as the new industries emerg-
ing from the second industrial revolution. Foreign investment in utilities
and the service sector changed the face of many cities, particularly
Barcelona, Bilbao and Madrid. The financial sector expanded. However,
despite all this, Spain did not manage to close the gap with the most
developed areas of the European continent. A close look at 1898 raises
many questions. Were the disastrous military defeats of 1898 a conse-
quence of the underdevelopment of the country? Spain was the only
European nation that did not acquire new overseas territories, did not
participate in the imperial powers’ scramble for Africa and did not play a
role in the distribution of the areas of influence in Asia. Quite the con-
trary, in fact: while almost all European countries, from Portugal to
Russia, gained new colonies, Spain was forced to abandon three rich and
strategic territories. Is there an economic explanation for this outcome? Is
there any evidence that the 1898 colonial “disaster” was due to economic
weakness? What was the economic importance of the lost colonies of
Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines? We contemplate the impact of
Spain’s loss of the colonial market, its control over strategic resources and
the financial linkages. Finally, the 1898 Spanish watershed will be con-
nected with turning points in or around that date in other peripheral
European countries.
Chapter 4 addresses the 1936 turning point, which has been analysed
by Concha Betrán. Taken together, the Great Depression and the Civil
War mark another turning point in Spanish political and economic con-
ditions, accompanied by the collapse of the monarchical regime for the
second time and the establishment of a modern democracy with the
Second Republic in April 1931. Although the Depression was less severe
in Spain than in the US or in some European countries (France and
Germany for instance), economic growth stopped, unemployment rose
and social conflicts intensified. The new Republican regime attempted to
implement reforms to meet the challenges: creating new institutions to
promote growth and establishing “inclusive” institutions and economic
policies to face the international crisis. Their objectives were compelling
and sometimes contradictory. Since the country was divided into back-
wardness and modernity, the reforms were not well accepted by the part
of the country that stood to lose out as a result (especially landowners but
also rent-seekers). At the same time, these reforms did not go far enough
for the other part that expected substantial change (mainly labourers).
Meanwhile, the still small new middle class, living in growing cities, was
in favour of modernization. All this occurred in an international context
in which existing economic policies were being called into question and
the new regime had to balance the importance of gaining domestic and
international respectability (using orthodox fiscal and monetary policy)
with their efforts to shift towards a moderate protectionist policy, and
enact land, labour and educational reforms. Although there had been an
economic recovery, political and social confrontation was fierce from
1934 to 1936 and ended in a civil war. Similar situations arose in the
international context, where different ideologies, including totalitarian
1 Introduction 7
ones, threatened the ability to resolve these problems. The connection

between the economic crisis and the Civil War is a major issue: for some,
the stagnation of the economy and the failure of certain reforms, such as
the land reform, are behind the military upheaval of 1936; for others, the
causes of the Civil War are to be found in the realm of politics and in the
social backwardness of the country. Whatever the causes of the Civil War,
the consequences were grim for the Spanish economy: a long-lasting
impact in terms of economic growth, with a GDP per capita that did not
return to pre-war levels until 1954; autarky and interventionist policies;
a huge loss of human capital, poverty and rising inequality; and a 40-year-
long dictatorship. Hopes of reform were left unfulfilled, with a severe
backlash against social and economic restructuring.
Chapter 5 is dedicated to the 1959 turning point, and is authored by
Elena Martínez-Ruiz and Maria A. Pons. After the great blow to eco-
nomic growth caused by the Civil War, Spain started its recovery in the
1950s. In the 1960s, Spain experienced a process of rapid growth with
remarkable structural transformations, a moderate improvement in living
standards and profound social change. The 1959 Stabilization Plan facili-
tated the “economic miracle” of the 1960s and constituted a turning
point in Spanish economic history. However, it was only a partial change,
which limited the possibilities of growth and development in the medium
and long term. The Plan was supported by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), as was the case with other stabilization programmes at that
time (the UK in 1957, Turkey in 1958, France in 1958, Argentina in
1958 and Chile in 1959). The main policies were designed to tackle the
key economic imbalances, and they also sought a modest improvement
in the institutional framework to promote private investment (domestic
and foreign) by boosting business confidence. But the Stabilization Plan
did not tackle other important reforms such as a new fiscal system to
finance increased economic and social expenditure, or a liberalization of
the labour market. Moreover, it maintained the high level of interven-
tionism in the domestic market and did not alter the wealth sources of
those interest groups that supported the regime. Consequently, no sig-
nificant advances were made in terms of income and wealth distribution.
In the end, Franco ensured continuity through internal stability and took
advantage of an international context that provided the Spanish
economy, first with support in the form of foreign aid, and subsequently
through the absorption of labour (emigration), tourism and direct invest-
ment. Despite its limitations, the Stabilization Plan allowed Spain to
benefit from the so-called “advantage of backwardness”. First, the Plan
enabled the introduction of new technologies through the imports of
capital goods, direct investments and the acquisitions of patents and reg-
istered trademarks, which in turn facilitated a boost in productivity in the
industrial and agricultural sectors. Secondly, the Plan exposed Spanish
firms to international competition in a favourable international context.
Western Europe was a huge market for Spanish goods, and trade open-
ness broadened the narrow internal market. Thirdly, international capital
openness increased the availability of external sources of financing used
to promote economic growth. Finally, the Plan contributed to the imple-
mentation of complementary reforms that facilitated monetary control
and helped reduce some macroeconomic imbalances (e.g., by stopping
the issue of government debt automatically pledged with the Bank of
Spain, or increasing taxes to reduce public deficits). The 1959 Stabilization
Plan is a good example of the benefits for an economy of changing from
autarky and interventionism to trade liberalization and market regula-
tion. But it is also an example of how political restrictions (the dictator-
ship) restricted the scope of the reforms and the country’s long-term
development potential.
Chapter 6 deals with the 1977 turning point, and is written by Joaquim
Cuevas and Maria A. Pons. A fourth watershed moment that can be high-
lighted is the economic and financial crisis of the 1970s due to the oil
shocks. It is considered one of the “Big Five” twentieth-century crises and
coincided with Spain’s political transition from a dictatorship to a full-
fledged democratic regime. As in other parts of the world, these were
crucial years: the Spanish golden age came to an end; growth slowed
down and then stopped; dire difficulties emerged in the banking system;
solvency and liquidity problems affected half of the credit institutions
and eventually led to their collapse. Uncertainty about the immediate
future paralyzed policy makers. Output fell, prices skyrocketed and
unemployment reached historical levels. Although the crisis was sparked
by an external shock (the oil shock), there are several particular features
1 Introduction 9
of the Spanish case that make 1977 a turning point in Spanish economic
history. Firstly, the economic crisis was accompanied by political and
institutional change. The political transition and the weakness of the new
governments shaped responses to the crisis, with key economic decision-
making postponed. Secondly, the crisis was more severe in Spain than in
other countries. The magnitude of the macroeconomic imbalances accu-
mulated during the Franco period and the delay in the implementation
of economic measures contributed to this severity. The main reforms,
which were implemented after the 1977 political agreement known as
the Pactos de la Moncloa, sought to address several key challenges: (a) to
reduce the main macroeconomic imbalances (inflation, public deficit);
(b) to increase the capacity of the State to implement economic policy
(fiscal and monetary policies) and to provide public goods such as health,
education or social and physical infrastructure; and (c) to engage in com-
plementary structural reforms such as industrial restructuring, labour
market reforms and decentralization of the State. The government priori-
tized stabilizing macroeconomic measures, meaning the implementation
of the structural reforms had to wait until the 1980s. The result was larger
imbalances and structural problems; in particular, unemployment rates
that were far higher and more persistent than in other European coun-
tries. Political instability and resistance from special-interest groups hin-
dered the adoption of other longer-term structural reforms. As a result,
some of these reforms were undertaken only in 1982 when the Socialist
party (PSOE) came to power and there was a broader consensus.
Moreover, some reforms were a prerequisite for entry into the European
Community in 1986. Ultimately, we have to consider not only the limits
of the reforms but also their seminal nature: the reforms implemented
from 1977 onwards marked the beginning of the path to modernization,
liberalization and international integration on a level with other European
countries, a process that was consolidated up to the beginning of the
twenty-first century.
Chapter 7 is about the 2008 turning point, and is authored by Jose
Ignacio Conde-Ruiz and Elena Martínez-Ruiz. The most recent eco-
nomic and financial crisis marks another turning point in Spanish eco-
nomic history. Prior to the crisis, Spain had been one of the economies
that had benefitted most from European Economic and Monetary Union
(EMU) membership. During the first seven years after the inauguration
of the monetary union, Spain’s economy enjoyed a phase of sustained
growth with notable progress made in terms of real convergence with the
core EU member countries. However, the economic growth in the
1999–2007 period was based on foundations that could not be main-
tained indefinitely. The demand stimulus provided by EMU membership
was only partially accommodated by the expansion in domestic output,
based on an exceptional increase in the rate of employment. This was not
adequately matched by an improvement in productivity. A series of
imbalances thus began to emerge which undermined the dynamism of
the expansion: inflation differentials, an increasing current account defi-
cit due to a pronounced loss of external competitiveness and rising levels
of household and corporate debt. The disequilibria came to light when
the international economic atmosphere changed in 2007 with the finan-
cial crisis in the US. The crisis did not take long to affect the Spanish
economy, although the authorities were slow to recognize it. The Spanish
Great Recession has been long and severe, and to some extent has changed
the fabric of the country. There are several reasons why the 2008 Great
Recession has been a turning point for Spain. Firstly, it has been the most
profound of all the Spanish economic crises in the analysed period. The
crisis produced a severe recession and a consequent decline in GDP
growth, very high unemployment rates, high levels of public debt that
reached sovereign debt crisis proportions and damage to Spain’s reputa-
tion and credibility as it sought assistance from abroad in order to deal
with its economic difficulties. Secondly, most of the resulting reforms
were targeted at solving the banking crisis, with vulnerable banks being
rescued by the government. The counterpart was the implementation of
austerity measures with major budget cuts in sectors such as education
and health. Thirdly, the economic crisis was also accompanied by a politi-
cal and institutional crisis. The economic deterioration undermined the
public trust in Spanish politicians as well as in other major Spanish insti-
tutions such as the Bank of Spain, the judiciary system and the monar-
chy. Finally, the crisis accentuated territorial tensions (Catalan calls for
independence) and social tensions (the 15 M or indignados movement).
1 Introduction 11
This chapter provides an analysis of the related policy decisions and the
adoption of measures aimed at overcoming the crisis. It also explores
essential aspects such as the consequences of making the solution to the
banking crisis the top priority, how other European countries faced the
crisis and how eurozone membership conditioned these responses.
The book includes an Epilogue written by Concha Betrán and Maria
A. Pons, which presents the main conclusions regarding Spain’s ability to
respond to the key challenges it has faced from 1808 to 2008.
In Spain, real GDP per capita multiplied by more than 20 times
between 1808 and 2008. To put this in perspective, if we compare
Spanish real GDP per capita with that of other large Western countries
(France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US), we can see that Spain’s level
of GDP per capita has been consistently lower1 (Fig. 1.1). Spain had a
lower level of GDP per capita in 1808 than other Western countries,
showing that the economic differences started before the beginning of the
100000
10000
1000
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
Sp Germany France UK Italy US
Fig. 1.1 Real GDP per capita in 2011 US$ in logs. (Source: Bolt et al. (2018))
nineteenth century. Around 1800, Spain’s real GDP per capita was a long
way off that of the leading country (the UK), representing only 48.8 per
cent of the real GDP per capita in the UK, and 57.6 per cent of that in
Italy. However, it was equivalent to around 80 per cent of German and
US real GDP per capita and above 87 per cent of that in France. In 2008,
Spain was relatively better positioned in terms of real GDP per capita
than in 1800, at 67 per cent of the real GDP per capita in the US (the
leading country), nearly 80 per cent of that in Germany and around
91–93 per cent the real GDP in France, the UK and Italy.
As Prados (2017) explains, the improvements in Spain’s position in
terms of real GDP per capita did not follow a monotonic trend; rather,
there were periods of divergence and other periods of catching up. The
aim of the book is to analyse the years that marked a watershed in Spanish
economic history and examine how they transformed the economy and
changed its position relative to other countries.
It can thus be seen that in this period (1808–2008), Spain has evolved
into a developed economy and there have been phases of progress and
catching up. Despite this, Spain shows some important weaknesses that
have their roots in the past. The book studies how Spanish economic
problems are related to the (domestic and international) economic condi-
tions and examines the responses to the challenges adopted at key
moments; moreover, it tries to understand the reasons for these specific
responses.
Among the factors that have conditioned the main responses and their
implementation, the book concentrates on: the economic structure
(Spain as a late industrializer), the interaction between the political and
economic processes (the late establishment of a democratic regime), the
distribution of power and wealth among different interest groups, and
their influence on the institutional framework and income distribution
(which determined whether or not the country could afford to imple-
ment the necessary reforms). We also consider the international context
(which in some specific cases limited the country’s capacity of reaction
but in other cases stimulated growth and development).
1 Introduction 13
Note
1. We have used data on real GDP per capita from Bolt et al. (2018).
References
Bolt, J., R. Inklaar, H. de Jong, and J.L. van Zanden. 2018. Rebasing “Maddison”:
New Income Comparisons and the Shape of Long-Run Economic
Development, Maddison Project Working Paper 10.
Prados de la Escosura, L. 2017. Spanish Economic Growth 1850–2015. London:
Palgrave Macmillan.
2
1808: The Napoleonic Wars and the Loss
of the American Colonies
Francisco Comín
2.1 1808 as a Turning Point

The invasion of Spain by Napoleon’s armies marked an international
turning point as it formed part of the Napoleonic Wars. In response to
this invasion, Spanish patriots declared a War of Independence against
Napoleon (also referred to at the time as the “French war” or “English
war”, as these were the two main warring armies). This moment was a
turning point in Spain’s history because it brought about decisive changes
between 1808 and 1874: successive wars, revolutions and counter-
revolutions; repeated regime changes (between absolutist and liberal) and
swift changes of government; and the reforms that established the liberal
constitutional regime and capitalist institutions. Crucially, those wars
and institutional reforms had profound economic repercussions. In the
short term, they created a demographic and economic crisis, but the
country recovered rapidly and the new institutions enabled greater
F. Comín (*)
University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
© The Author(s) 2020 15

C. Betrán, M. A. Pons (eds.), Historical Turning Points in Spanish Economic Growth
and Development, 1808–2008, Palgrave Studies in Economic History,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40910-4_2
16 F. Comín
growth than in the eighteenth century. However, growth remained below

the European average, and thus did not allow the completion of the pro-
cess of industrialization initiated by the liberal revolution.
The revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars affected both Europe and
America. The French armies invaded vast territories of continental
Europe, including Spain, where economic growth was held back by the
feudal institutions that still held sway in the eighteenth century: absolute
monarchies; feudal, municipal and ecclesiastical properties that could not
be sold (entailed lands); peasants who paid feudal dues and taxes to the
nobles; and guilds that held a monopoly on trade and industry in the cit-
ies. The French Revolution of 1789 had done away with these institu-
tions in France. In 1792, European monarchies led by Austria attacked
France in an attempt to crush the revolutionary regime. The French army
fought back and conquered vast swathes of foreign territory: Holland, the
United Provinces, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain. The
Convention and later Napoleon exported the reforms of the French
Revolution to the conquered countries: they overthrew the absolutist
monarchies and feudal relations, replacing them with liberal institutions;
they stripped the clergy and nobility of their class privileges, establishing
the equality of citizens before the law, the rule of law and the separation
of powers (checks and balances); and they established capitalist institu-
tions (private property, freedom of trade and industry, the stock exchange,
the National Bank) as well as the Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic
Wars introduced the “inclusive institutions” of capitalism to the con-
quered nations, which paved the way for industrialization. After
Napoleon’s defeat, the Holy Alliance and the European nobility imposed
conservative monarchies—even in France—that left Napoleon’s key
reforms in place (Acemoglu and Robinson 2012; O’Rourke 2006).
One difference between post-Napoleonic Spain and the rest of Europe
was that when Ferdinand VII returned to the throne in 1814, overthrow-
ing the constitutional regime of the Cortes of Cádiz, he did not maintain
the liberal reforms. Rather, he attempted to turn back time, reinstating
the pre-Napoleonic War institutions (restoration of feudalism, guilds and
the privileged estates) and abolishing the measures of the governments
both of Joseph Bonaparte and the Cortes of Cádiz. Spain’s war against
Napoleon was relatively short because it started fairly late. The war began
2 1808: The Napoleonic Wars and the Loss of the American… 17
on 2nd May 1808 with the popular uprising against Napoleon because
he had forced the royal family to abdicate in favour of the Bonaparte
dynasty. It ended in 1814, when Napoleon restored Ferdinand VII to the
throne and the French occupation came to a close. In order to move his
armies to Northern Europe, Napoleon signed a secret agreement with
Ferdinand VII that restored him to the throne of Spain, overturning the
constitutional regime. The European powers, including Great Britain,
contributed to the fall of the constitutional regime, considering it too
revolutionary.
The liberal revolution lasted longer because Ferdinand VII restored the
Ancien Régime which prolonged the conflict between liberals and abso-
lutists until 1840, giving rise to coups d’état and civil wars. This state of
affairs can be explained by the fact that neither side was militarily capable
of prevailing over its enemy. The liberals lacked the strength to impose
themselves on the nobility and the Church, who defended the absolutism
of Ferdinand VII, and he needed the help of foreign forces to overthrow
the liberal governments in 1814 and 1823, when he restored absolutism.
But the situation changed after the death of Ferdinand VII in 1833, as
the nobility that backed the royal claim of his daughter Isabella was sup-
ported by the moderate, Francophile and progressive liberals, who took
seven years, until 1840, to defeat the Carlists, despite outside assistance
from Great Britain and the Holy Alliance. The agreement between the
liberals and the nobility allowed Isabella II to win the dynastic war and to
carry out the bourgeois revolution enacted by the liberal regime in Spain.
But this agreement moderated the reforms of the liberal revolution, creat-
ing less inclusive economic institutions than in the rest of Europe, which
hindered industrialization.
Another feature specific to Spain was that Napoleon’s invasion trig-
gered the wars of independence by the American colonial viceroyalties,
which created the Latin American independent republics from 1821. The
Napoleonic Wars put an end to the Spanish Empire, benefitting the
industrialized nations that were able to trade with the former Spanish
colonies.
The most relevant consequence of the Napoleonic Wars, therefore, was
that it unleashed the liberal revolution in Spain on two fronts, since two
liberal revolutions took place simultaneously. In the first, Napoleon
18 F. Comín
appointed his brother as king (Joseph I) and, with the support of the
Francophiles, established French institutions in the occupied Spanish ter-
ritories, beginning with the Bayonne Constitution. In the second, the
patriot government opened Constituent Cortes in Cádiz, which approved
the Constitution of Cádiz in 1812. The restoration of absolutism in 1814
prolonged the cycle of wars and coups d’état, revolutions and counter-
revolutions until 1868, when a military coup brought an end to the First
Spanish Republic (1873), restoring the Bourbon monarchy (1874). This
political instability delayed the success of liberal reforms until the
Democratic Sexennial (1868–1874).
The Napoleonic Wars had various different consequences in Spain. In
the first place, the plunder and destruction of the war had short-term
repercussions on population, agriculture, industry, finance and trade,
although the Spanish economy soon recovered from these immediate
effects. On the other hand, more lasting effects of the war came from the
issuance of large amounts of public debt to finance it, as well as the loss
of the continental American colonies; these two events led to the bank-
ruptcy of the public Treasury and shaped the economic policy decisions
of the Spanish governments well into the latter half of the nineteenth
century. Lastly, the longest-term effects of Napoleon’s invasion were the
institutional reforms introduced by the liberal revolution, initiated by the
government of Joseph Bonaparte (Bayonne Constitution) and by the
patriot governments (Constitution of Cádiz): the War of Independence
sparked the liberal revolution and the formation of the liberal State,
which established the institutions of capitalism, which in turn were con-
ducive to industrialization in Spain (Llopis 2002; Pro 2019).
This chapter evaluates the impact of the Napoleonic Wars, the institu-
tional reforms and their effects on growth, economic structure and wealth
distribution in Spain. Particular attention is paid to the persistence of
Old Regime political and economic institutions and behaviours that dis-
torted the practical application of the new laws, which were formally
similar to those of other European nations. Section 2.2 examines the
short-term effects of the Napoleonic invasion: death, destruction, sei-
zures, and agricultural and industrial crises. Section 2.3 studies the insti-
tutional impact of the Napoleonic Wars and the absolutist and
constitutional regimes that followed between 1808 and 1874, focusing
on the structural reforms of the liberal revolution. Section 2.4 examines

the effects of political and institutional changes on economic growth and
the industrial revolution by analysing the agricultural, industrial, public,
foreign trade and banking sectors. Lastly, some interpretative conclusions
are drawn about the relative failure of the industrial revolution in
nineteenth-century Spain.
2.2 he Immediate Effects of the Napoleonic

T
Invasion: Wars, Destruction, Loss
of the Colonies and the
Liberal Revolution
Without Napoleon’s invasion, the liberal revolution of 1808 would not
have been possible. In fact, following the French Revolution, the enlight-
ened governments halted their timid reforms and established a cordon
sanitaire to prevent the contagion of revolutionary ideas in Spain. The
liberal revolution was the main consequence of the French invasion, since
the Spanish liberals did not have the strength to either initiate it or to see
it through (Martorell 2018). The liberal governments and the Constitution
of Cádiz of 1812 were a result of the popular uprising against Napoleon
and the liberal regime that he had installed under the reign of Joseph
Bonaparte, as well as the French institutions that, with the support of the
Francophiles, he established in the occupied Spanish territories. Napoleon
was also responsible for the return of absolutism in 1814: Ferdinand VII
overturned all the reforms of the two constitutional regimes (Bayonne
and Cádiz) and persecuted all Spanish liberals, regardless of whether they
were Francophiles or patriots. The disagreeable personality of Ferdinand
VII and the vested interests among his court of advisors, contractors and
financiers had a delaying effect on the liberal (and industrial) revolution
that lasted beyond the death of the king. He had named his daughter,
Isabella, as his successor in 1833, a decision opposed by the so-called carl-
ists.1 Out of the pact between the nobility and the bourgeoisie, a liberal
State emerged in 1840. It was conservative and favourable to the interests
of landowners and financiers. The wars and military coups between 1808
20 F. Comín
and 1876 can thus be interpreted as an unresolved civil war started by

Napoleon.2 As stated earlier, the liberals were not able to impose them-
selves on the absolutists of Ferdinand VII, but nor was the king able to
defeat the liberals without the support of the Holy Alliance and Britain.
The European powers continued to back Isabella II, who had to accept
the support of the liberals to hold the throne. Spain became a nation
subject to European powers, as it was a political protectorate and an eco-
nomic colony. Along with the international support, the alliance of the
liberals (progressives) with the landed nobility (moderates) can explain
the economic policy pursued by the liberal monarchy, which fostered a
model of economic growth without industrialization.
As has been pointed out, the Napoleonic Wars caused Spain to lose its
American colonies, and it fell from being an imperial nation to a second-
tier country with little military and international power. The creation of
a liberal regime in the metropole prompted insurgent movements in
Latin America, arising out of the power vacuum left by the government
of Madrid, and by the desire of the establishment that ruled in Spanish
America (viceroys, military governors and other colonial positions) to
prevent a liberal revolution and maintain the Ancien Régime. Having
gained their independence in the early 1820s, the American colonies
became new sovereign republics sharing a common institutional heritage
with Spain as well as permanent political instability, which hobbled their
economic growth in the nineteenth century (Acemoglu and
Robinson 2012).
The Napoleonic Wars increased the scale of military operations (battles
of 500,000 combatants): they consumed a larger share of the national
budget and entailed greater physical destruction and loss of human life
(five million deaths across Europe). France secured huge financial
resources from the conquests, as “Napoleon’s France raised the practice of
pillage to a fine art”, but it did not improve its fiscal organization or mili-
tary logistics. The large number of Russian army troops, financial
resources from the UK and the local guerrillas’ resistance to the French
invader in the occupied continental territories all played a part in
Napoleon’s defeat. In Spain, Napoleon faced a British Army with more
resources and better logistics, which was also supported by the Spanish
guerrillas.3 The aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars had an impact on
Spain, contributing to a backward economy and social conflicts. Since

1790, Spain had suffered from stagnating agricultural production,
because the vast area of land in mortmain (lands belonging to the Church,
municipalities, entailed estates, Mesta pastures4) prevented any increase
in tilled land. The criticisms levelled at these institutions and the Treasury
crisis prompted the minister Godoy to approve the confiscation of
Church property, the seizure of the tithes of the Church and other mea-
sures in opposition to the Church. The hike in basic commodity prices
and poor harvests sparked riots and generated resistance among the peas-
antry to paying tithes and feudal rents. By 1808, Spain had still not
recovered from the crises caused by basic commodity shortages (known
as the crisis de subsistencias) of 1803–1805, the main causes of which were
poor harvests and its effects were famine, epidemics and mortality. These
economic crises exacerbated the problems of the Treasury due to the resis-
tance to paying taxes, and created a social and political crisis that had
already started to undermine the institutions of the Ancien Régime before
1808. This explains the fragmentation of political factions in the face of
Napoleon’s invasion and the “profound political, economic and social
changes” caused by the French invasion (Llopis 2002; Comín and
Hernández 2013).
The War of Independence led to a decline in Spanish GDP per capita,
though the drop was smaller than that caused by the food crisis in the
period 1803–1805. The severity of the economic crisis of 1808–1814
was due to the adverse impact on Spanish wealth and means of produc-
tion caused by the negative effects of the war: high numbers of war dead;
destruction of factories and crops; and looting of artistic works, jewels,
precious metals, food and livestock. Spanish public and private wealth
was plundered by the two armies (Napoleonic and British), which were
financed through theft, taxes and confiscations from the land (crops and
livestock). This theft of artworks remains evident in the Wellington
Collection, composed of the stolen paintings (200 in total) that the
British general found (and then appropriated) in a carriage abandoned by
Joseph Bonaparte in his hasty escape.
First of all, the War of Independence severely impacted the Spanish
population, which was already in a weakened state in 1808 due to the
earlier food and mortality crisis. The demographic crises during the war
22 F. Comín
against Napoleon were caused by factors related to the war. On the one
hand, the battles and the siege of cities during the war resulted in a loss
of human lives in both the Spanish army and the civilian population; on
the other hand, the war itself and the displacement of the troops had a
greater indirect impact on mortality by setting in motion the traditional
mechanisms that caused shortages, famines and epidemics. The most
serious demographic crises occurred in 1809, 1812 and 1813–1814. The
“Napoleonic cycle of the Spanish population” covers the first 15 years of
the nineteenth century and was characterized by an estimated negative
balance in potential population growth (due to increased mortality and
falling birth rates) of 800,000 people. In the six years of the War of
Independence, the magnitude of this loss of potential population was
similar to that produced by the Civil War (560,000 deaths between 1936
and 1942) (Pérez Moreda 2010: 327–329).
The second consequence concerns the major change in the agrarian
structure generated by the War of Independence, namely, the halving of
the transhumant sheep population. Official exports of merino sheep to
France did not exceed 200,000 head (less than 5% of the four million
head of sheep in the transhumant population). The main causes of the
drop in the transhumant sheep population were theft, requisitioning by
troops, the illegal extraction of herds sold by their owners and the confis-
cation of this property. The church-owned flocks were disentailed and
their flocks of sheep were purchased by many buyers who kept the merino
sheep as local grazing. A key factor in the decline of transhumant sheep
herding was the loss of international markets for the lowest-quality
Spanish merino wool and competition from the wool produced by
merino sheep exported and acclimatized to Northern Europe. After the
war, most of the Spanish merino wool went to the Catalan wool industry.
The abolition of the Mesta in 1836 was a liberal measure that was not
difficult to enact as the transhumant sheep farming was no longer profit-
able (García Sanz 2010: 390–396).
Thirdly, the legal and ideological ruptures as well as the changes in the
practices of political and economic agents (nobles, merchants, urban oli-
garchies, peasants) caused by the Napoleonic Wars led to vast areas of
land being put under the plough and the non-payment of feudal rents,
tithes and other taxes by peasants. On the one hand, the creditors of the
State used their government bonds to purchase disentailed municipal

property; on the other, in response to the vacuum of authority left by the
central government, the urban oligarchies also engaged in illegal tilling of
land. The legislation of the two opposing governments in the War of
Independence brought down the feudal institutions of the Ancien
Régime: tithing, feudal dues and municipal ordinances on the cultivation
of the land and other communal practices. The war prevented govern-
ments from enforcing the laws in both the new regime and the Ancien
Régime. The peasants understood that the tithe, feudal rents and taxes
paid to the king were neither divinely ordained nor always had to be paid,
since the governments had abolished them.5 Therefore, the War of
Independence led to the bankruptcy of the Ancien Régime and gave rise
to the liberal revolution, altering the distribution of property and agrar-
ian income. After the war, there was a reduction in the inequality in the
distribution of income in Spain as the land factor became cheaper (due to
the drop in the demand for land caused by municipal property going
under the plough) and the labour factor rose in value (due to the increase
in mortality rates and the recruitment of troops into armies and to fight
as guerrillas, as well as the increased demand for labour resulting from the
expansion of cropland, and the decline in animals for draught and trans-
port). This change in the distribution in favour of the peasants lasted
until 1840 (Llopis 2004: 43–44).
Fourthly, the War of Independence also had catastrophic effects on the
agricultural and industrial activity. These were caused by the destruction
of crops, animals for draught and loading, and production equipment;
the requisitioning of food and products, and limited access to production
inputs; increased fiscal pressure; and exposure to foreign competition, in
terms of both the large-scale smuggling of food and industrial goods and
abundant imports of products by the government of Joseph I and the
British troops in Spain. In addition, smuggling increased as the coasts
were left entirely unguarded.6 The war had a greater effect on the royal
factories. The French army destroyed the arms, munitions and steel fac-
tories in northern Spain for strategic reasons, while the Royal Porcelain
Factory in Madrid was razed by the British troops. Many of the royal
factories were shut down because employees’ wages were not being paid.
Ravaged factories were not rebuilt and the others were abandoned or
24 F. Comín
privatized, due to the liberals’ opposition to State-owned companies.

Only the royal factories that were fiscal monopolies (tobacco and mines)
were restored (Comín 1991). Generally speaking, there was limited
destruction of private factories, both because they were not a military
target and because the industries lacked large investments in fixed capital.
In spite of this, the War of Independence did directly reduce industrial
activity, even resulting in the closure of factories, due to the effects of
battles and besieged cities, as well as the contributions, requisitions, levies
and accommodations required by troops. In addition, there were indirect
effects stemming from the drop in demand, transport difficulties, the loss
of colonial markets, the scarcity of raw materials and a reduced labour
supply due to the recruitment of troops and demographic crises. Although
the manufacturing businessmen were subject to a certain degree of tax
pressure and requisitioning, they did not face the levels of pillaging suf-
fered by the peasants. Many craftsmen and manufacturers were ruined
and proletarianized, polarizing society between factory owners and prole-
tarians, as happened in agriculture between landlords and day labourers.
Finally, the industries received orders from the patriot army but not in
the territories occupied by the French, as the orders from the Napoleonic
army went to merchants who supplied them with imports of foreign
goods. The merchants were the ones who benefitted most from the war,
especially those who did business with both governments (Sánchez 2010).
Another significant effect of the war was that the Spanish people had
to finance all three armies (the French, the British and the patriot army)
as well as the guerrillas who fought in the War of Independence. The
Cádiz government established an extraordinary war tax and then in 1813
a direct tax, though it did not manage to collect either. The governments
of Cádiz and Madrid did not collect enough tax revenue to feed and
equip their regular armies, so the troops had to secure their own supplies
on the ground—through theft or requisitioning—as did the guerrillas.
Some of Joseph Bonaparte’s requisitions were paid for by turning over
disentailed land. The British and patriot troops paid for some of their
supplies with promissory notes, which were not paid out, although some
recipients managed to exchange them for public debt securities in the
debt conversion carried out by the minister of finance, Bravo Murillo. In
order to meet the tax requirements of the French troops, some
municipalities charged new taxes on factories and productive activities.7

To finance the wars, the government of Cádiz relied on supplies from the
people, loans and advances from army contractors and Spanish bankers,
as well as international aid. Between 1808 and 1815, British assistance to
the patriots’ cause totalled 7.8 million pound sterling, which was repaid
in cash or in debt securities. The Treasury of Cádiz collected 1.5 billion
reales in taxes, of which 600 million came from America. The latter total
dropped after February 1811 when the insurgencies in the colonies
began. Most of the colonial remittances came from donations and loans
provided by Mexican business owners (Fontana and Garrabou 1986;
Prados de la Escosura and Santiago-Caballero 2018; Moreno 2015;
Gárate Ojanguren and de Luxán Meléndez 2012). In sum, the only
options open to the government of Cádiz were to go into arrears on pay-
ments (more than 6.3 billion reales) and to issue public debt (which
increased by 60% between 1808 and 1814, reaching 12 billion reales in
1815). The invasion of Napoleon thus had a lasting effect on public
finances, creating the conditions for the bankruptcy of the absolutist
Treasury of Fernando VII, following his restoration as monarch in 1814.
This bankruptcy was brought about by the loss of American remittances,
the reduction in customs revenue, the decline in domestic taxes collected,
political instability and war, as well as increased expenditure due to the
war and servicing the debt (Fontana 1971; Comín 1990, 2004).
Lastly, the direct cost to the Spanish economy of the loss of the
American colonies was less than 6% of GDP (Prados de la Escosura
1988). The indirect effects were greater, and some were positive. On the
one hand, the loss of colonial markets forced the Catalan bourgeoisie to
support a liberal revolution that created a national market for its indus-
trial production (Fontana 1971). The 1778 Decree of Free Trade between
Spain and the Indies ended the monopoly Cádiz held on trade with the
Americas, opening it up to 13 Spanish ports, including the Catalan ports
of Tortosa and Barcelona. From that moment on, the Catalan bourgeoi-
sie started to sell its products (spirits and textiles) directly in America,
generating an agrarian, commercial and industrial expansion in Catalonia.
This explains why Catalonia was one of the regions most affected by the
loss of colonial markets; as a result, its bourgeoisie tried to find a domes-
tic market for its products. On discovering the limited size of this market,
26 F. Comín
due to the existence of the institutions of the Ancien Régime, the Catalan
bourgeoisie became revolutionary, seeking to abolish those institutions
and establish liberal economic ones. Besides, the emancipation of the
colonies brought an end to the remittances from America, which had
represented a source of income for the State and profits for the mer-
chants. From then on, the Spanish Treasury was financed through main-
land Spanish resources, with the exception of the transfers from Cuba
(Moreno 2015, 2018). Finally, the loss of the empire transformed foreign
trade, as exports to America fell by 60%, transit trade between the colo-
nies and Europe disappeared and the flow of silver from America used to
compensate Spain’s trade deficit with the other European countries dried
up. This deficit led to an increase in the outflow of silver, generating a
deflationary process aggravated by Napoleon’s monetary war, in which
the government of Joseph Bonaparte mandated the use of the French cur-
rency as a means of payment, attributing a nominal value equal to the
Spanish currency although the latter was worth 10% more on the mar-
ket. In accordance with Gresham’s Law, Spanish coins disappeared from
Spain, with the French coins being used until the monetary reform
implemented by Figuerola in 1869 (Prados de la Escosura and Santiago-
Caballero 2018).
2.3 he Legislative Impact: The Liberal

T
Revolution and the Establishment
of Capitalist Institutions
In the long run, the effect of the Napoleonic invasion was positive because
it triggered a liberal revolution that established the capitalist rules of the
game in Spain, through legal and institutional reforms. During the War
of Independence, liberal reforms were implemented in Spain on two
fronts. The liberal revolution was initiated by the Bonaparte dynasty,
which first established the bourgeois institutions in place in France at
that time, beginning with the Bayonne Constitution. A little later, the
patriot government of the Cortes of Cádiz introduced similar reforms to
those enacted by Bonapartists: constitution, separation of powers, rule of
law, national sovereignty, personal freedoms and electoral processes. Both

governments replaced the mercantile policies of the Ancien Régime with
new liberal institutions and policies. However, the institutional transfor-
mation was a chequered process as neither constitutional regime (that of
Joseph I or the Cortes of Cádiz) lasted very long, being overthrown by
the restoration of the absolutist State by Fernando VII in 1814. Then
began the violent alternation between the two political regimes (absolut-
ist and liberal), with a period of wars and military coups that lasted
until 1840.8
The nobility changed its political position as it saw its feudal rents fall
(feudal dues, tithes, profits from the Mesta ranchers, etc.). The secular
nobility found it profitable to go along with the revolutionary process,
rather than oppose it. This was the case from 1833 on and was consoli-
dated under the government of the progressive Mendizábal (1836–1837),
who moderated the revolutionary reforms so that the nobles would retain
ownership of the land and receive other compensations from the State
budget in exchange for renouncing the feudal dues that the peasants were
no longer paying.9 This alliance with the landed nobility allowed the lib-
eral governments to subdue the carlists, an army which brought together
those in favour of maintaining the Ancien Régime; namely, the most
reactionary nobility, the Church and the peasantry. The regency of María
Cristina was unable to impose moderate institutional reform in
1834–1835, while the revolutionary movement of 1835 brought the pro-
gressive liberals into government; they opened Constituent Cortes, dis-
mantled the institutions of the Ancien Régime and approved reforms
similar to those passed in the Cortes of Cádiz and the Constitutional
Triennium, albeit somewhat more moderate. This moderation was due to
the pact made between the liberals and the nobility, to the pressure from
the European powers that supported Isabella II, and to the realistic
approach adopted by the progressives, who had learnt from previous fail-
ures that they lacked the strength to impose a liberal regime without the
support of the lay nobles.10 Once the ecclesiastical disentailment had
been completed and the tithe abolished, the liberals sought reconciliation
with the Church.11 The Moderate Party was in power between 1844 and
1854 and imposed its model of the State, which retained some remnants
of the Ancien Régime. After the Carlist War, the Spanish bourgeoisie was
28 F. Comín
no longer revolutionary. As elsewhere in Europe, from the 1840s on it

was concerned with defending itself from the Progressive Party and from
the popular revolutions and riots sparked by the anarchists (Llopis 2002;
Comín 2018a, b).
The main measures of the liberal revolution in Spain were similar to
those adopted in post-revolutionary France. Notable among the political
institutions were the constitutions that established liberal political
regimes with separation of powers, the rule of law and the equality of citi-
zens before the law; the Constitution of 1837 and those that followed
established a shared sovereignty between the people and the monarch,
who retained fundamental powers such as appointing the government.
First among the notable economic institutions were those that liberalized
private sector activity. This included the creation of the market for factors
of production (land, labour and capital), the liberalization of the goods
market (abolition of guilds and the grain price rate; declaration of free-
dom of industry; freedom of domestic trade and liberalization of foreign
trade), the establishment of private ownership of land (disentailment,
abolition of primogeniture, abolition of feudal lordships), and the estab-
lishment of the monetary system and the metric system, as well as busi-
ness legislation (banking system, public limited companies, commercial
code and the stock exchange). Secondly, the public institutions that cre-
ated the liberal State were established: the liberal tax system, the expendi-
ture budget for the supply of public goods, public officials, public debt
reform, the education system and public charity were among the most
important reforms (Gutiérrez-Poch 2018; Cuevas 2018; Pro 2019).
On the one hand, the liberal agrarian reform established private own-
ership of land, with the laws on the dissolution of the feudal lordships,
abolition of primogeniture, the disentailment of the lands of the clergy
and the municipal councils and the suppression of the tithe. These mea-
sures affected the distribution of wealth and income, resulting in growing
inequality from 1840 on. The dissolution of the feudal lordships consoli-
dated an unequal distribution of property, since the nobility held onto
the land, becoming a landowning bourgeoisie. In the ecclesiastical disen-
tailment carried out by Mendizábal in 1836, the lands of the clergy were
bought by mid-sized and large-scale farmers, while urban land and build-
ings were acquired by the commercial bourgeoisie. The civil
disentailment approved in 1855 by Pascual Madoz privatized the lands of

the municipal councils. Both disentailment processes increased the size of
the landed properties and favoured the mid-sized and large owners. They
also increased the supply of land on the market, allowing the expansion
of cropland area, thereby fostering agricultural growth until the start of
the agricultural crisis in 1882. At the same time, the disentailment cre-
ated the labour market (wage workers) because it led to the peasants’
expulsion from the lands that they had, up to that point, cultivated under
long-term contracts (emphyteusis)12 in both lay and ecclesiastical seigneur-
ies. It also deprived them of the free use of common land, which they
used for grazing, firewood, hunting and fishing. From 1840, the liberal
agrarian reforms and the political pact between the oligarchies (nobility
and bourgeoisie), along with the increased demand for land by a growing
population, exacerbated the situation of peasants and day labourers, put-
ting an end to the ease with which they accessed farmland and pasture
during the political crisis of the Ancien Régime between 1808 and 1836.
This affected the distribution of income as land rent rose markedly from
1840, having previously stagnated, adversely affecting peasants’ living
conditions. This is reflected in the rise in child mortality, a decline in the
height of men and the reduction of real wages in agriculture. The period
after 1840 saw a return to the dynamics of the eighteenth century, with a
growing ratio of land rent to wages, exacerbating the situation of tenants
and wage workers while landowners grew richer (Llopis 2004; Pan-
Montojo 2018).
On the other hand, the liberals created the liberal State: they liquidated
State-owned companies, dispensed with economic interventionism and
mercantile prohibition and implemented the fiscal and budgetary reforms
proposed by the classical economists (Comín 2010). Constitutional gov-
ernments abolished feudal taxes and privileges and established liberal tax
principles (legality, general applicability, sufficiency and proportional
equity). The constitutional tax reforms shed the initial radicalism of the
Cortes of Cádiz, opting for pragmatism in the 1845 tax system passed by
Alejandro Mon. This system lasted, with minor changes, until 1978.13
The progressive governments of 1854 and 1868 respected said tax sys-
tem, except for the excises, which were abolished. However, they failed
to establish personal taxes, as occurred with the Figuerola tax reform in
30 F. Comín
1868. The main taxes of the liberal tax system of 1845 were the land
tax, the excises and the customs tariff. Despite their opposition to State-
owned companies, the liberals retained some fiscal monopolies (tobacco,
salt, the lottery) and some State mines (Almadén, Río Tinto) to supple-
ment public revenues (Fontana 1973, 1977; Comín 1988). However, the
tax system allowed landlords and industrialists to commit tax fraud, as
they hid their wealth to the Treasury, shifting the tax burden to peasants
and urban consumers. Tax fraud was another one of the causes underly-
ing the insufficient tax revenues and the public deficit shown in Fig. 2.1.
The poverty of the Treasury prevented the State from fulfilling the clas-
sic public functions: defence, security, public works and education. This
fiscal incapacity explains the powerlessness of the Spanish army and the
foreign invasions. It can also explain the reduced public investment in
social fixed capital stock and human capital, which slowed down the
industrialization process. So few public resources were devoted to educa-
tion that most of the population remained illiterate (70% of the
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
Fig. 2.1 Public budget deficit on GDP (%). (Source: Comín (2014a))
population in 1870), which contributed to the fact that Spain’s Human

Development Index at that time was far lower than in the developed
European countries (Prados de la Escosura 2003; Viñao 2018). In addi-
tion, the large budget deficits required a huge issuance of public debt,
resulting in a financial burden that could not be borne by the State, which
was bankrupt until 1851 (when the debt was restructured by finance
minister Bravo Murillo). As shown in Fig. 2.2, this is evident from the
high government bond yields of above 10%, a figure in the region of junk
bonds. Financing the wars led to the debt crisis in Spain, which had seri-
ous consequences for the economic policy of the Spanish governments.
In addition, it drove up the costs of financing the State and private com-
panies, thus limiting industrialization. The hardships of the Treasury
played a decisive role in how the disentailment, tariff, banking, railway
and mining laws were carried out. The design of these laws to compensate
domestic and foreign lenders during the Progressive Biennium and the
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
1788
1790
1792
1794
1796
1798
1800
1802
1804
1806
1808
1810
1812
1814
1816
1818
1820
1822
1824
1826
1828
1830
1832
1834
1836
1838
1840
1842
1844
1846
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1860
1862
1864
1866
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
Spain UK
Fig. 2.2 Ten-year Government Bond Yield (%). (Source: Comín (2016))
32 F. Comín
Democratic Sexennial14 are issues that have been proposed as explanatory

factors for the failure of industrialization (Comín 2018a, b; Gutiérrez-
Poch 2018).
2.4 L ong-Term Economic Effects: Economic

Growth Without Industrial Revolution
The Spanish economy recovered after 1815 because the war had not
wreaked major destruction and because actually the institutions and eco-
nomic practices established by the liberals were kept in place.15 The capi-
talist institutions implemented fostered economic growth, with the
population and GDP per capita rising simultaneously between 1815 and
1864, except during the Carlist War; in addition, both these variables
grew at a faster rate than in the eighteenth century. In 1860, the Spanish
population was 50% larger than that in 1787. Nevertheless, the growth
in Spain’s GDP per capita was less than half that of the European powers,
indicating the “relative failure” of Spanish industrialization. Although
industrialization began early in Spain, the process failed due to geograph-
ical, political and social constraints. Between 1850 and 1890, Spanish
GDP grew at 1.7% per year, a lower rate than in other European coun-
tries; it was a sign of Spain’s backwardness that in 1890 its GDP per
capita was half that of Britain and 75% that of France and Germany.
Another indication of Spain’s lower level of industrialization was the
domination of agricultural cycles, with their food crisis; agriculture
remained the principal sector of the Spanish economy and its production
was highly dependent on the quality of the land, and the dry climate with
minimal irrigation. Proof of this can be found in the fact that, between
1840 and 1880, the structure of the active population did not change,
with the agricultural population representing 64% of the total (Pascual
and Sudrià 2002; Pérez Moreda 2010; Prados de la Escosura and Santiago-
Caballero 2018).
The revolutionary measures taken during the War of Independence
drove industrial change, but it took two decades to consolidate, and even
then growth was slow and the industrialization process remained
incomplete. Historians attribute the failure of the industrial revolution to

several factors: first, the persistence of some elements of the Ancien
Régime; second, political instability and wars; third, the narrowness of
the internal market due to the stagnation of agriculture and the geo-
graphical environment; fourth, insufficient investment by the State; fifth,
the inadequate endowment of agricultural resources; and sixth, the lack
of an industrial policy.
In the first place, the vestiges of the Ancien Régime and the country’s
natural conditions played a role in the relative failure of industrialization.
These two factors can explain why the capitalist institutions established
by the liberal revolution did not lead to industrialization in Spain. The
analysis of the long-term impact of the War of Independence on agricul-
ture and industry underlies the debate on the causes of the failure of the
industrial revolution in Spain. While experts in industrial history lay the
blame for Spain’s backwardness on agriculture, agricultural historians
hold industry itself responsible.16 Spanish agriculture did not remain
stagnant, but rather responded positively to both domestic demand
(cereal) and foreign demand (wine and citrus fruits). If Spanish agricul-
ture did not achieve greater growth, it was because there was less indus-
trial demand for superior agricultural products, which could have
promoted dynamic agriculture, and for labour, which could have driven
migration from the countryside to industrial districts. The latter would
have solved the problem of agrarian underemployment and unemploy-
ment, and pushed up wages, which would have required greater invest-
ment from the agrarian owners (Pujol et al. 2001). On the other hand,
this perspective denies that institutional issues (the changes in the liberal
reform and the legacy of the Ancien Régime) played a prominent role in
the evolution of agriculture in the nineteenth century. In any case—bear-
ing in mind the inadequate resources available to Spanish agriculture—
the form that the liberal revolution took place and the features inherited
from the Ancien Régime made it impossible to resolve some of the tradi-
tional problems afflicting Spanish agriculture. Among these problems, it
is worth highlighting the concentration of land ownership and the preva-
lence of smallholdings (minifundios). This situation created rural unem-
ployment and underemployment, and low wages, and dissuaded
landowners, as well as settlers and tenants, from making investments in
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s’avancèrent légèrement, vigilants, l’œil fixe et la gueule ouverte,
dans l’attente du dénouement.
Recourant à sa tactique favorite, Kazan se mit à tourner en rond
autour de son adversaire, comme il avait fait, avec Louve Grise,
autour du vieil élan. Le husky parut tout décontenancé. Il pivotait
péniblement sur lui-même, les oreilles rabattues, et boitant sur son
épaule brisée.
Toute la prudence de Kazan lui était revenue et, quoiqu’il saignât
abondamment, il avait repris sa sagesse et sa maîtrise de lui. Cinq
fois il décrivit autour du gros husky son cercle fatal. Puis, soudain,
comme part un coup de feu, il s’élança de côté sur son ennemi, de
tout son poids, pour le renverser.
Le choc fut si violent que le husky en culbuta, les quatre pattes
en l’air. Et déjà les quatre chiens, qui composaient l’impitoyable
tribunal de mort, étaient sur lui.
Toute la haine accumulée en eux durant des semaines et des
mois, contre le chef arrogant, aux longs crocs, qui les avait
tyrannisés sous le harnais, se donna libre cours et, en un clin d’œil, il
fut mis en lambeaux.
Kazan vint fièrement se camper aux côtés de Louve Grise, qui
l’avait laissé combattre seul. Avec un petit pleurnichement joyeux,
elle posa câlinement sa tête sur le cou du triomphateur. C’était la
seconde fois que, pour l’amour d’elle, Kazan avait affronté le mortel
combat. Deux fois il avait vaincu.
Et son âme — si elle avait une âme — en exulta vers le ciel gris
et froid, tandis que, levant ses yeux aveugles vers l’invisible aurore,
elle écoutait craquer, sous la dent des quatre chiens, la chair et les
os de l’ennemi que son seigneur et maître avait abattu.
XVIII
LE CARNAVAL DU WILD
Durant trois jours et trois nuits, Kazan et Louve Grise vécurent

sur la chair gelée du vieil élan, montant la garde auprès de lui, en
compagnie des quatre chiens qui avaient immédiatement reconnu
Kazan pour leur chef.
Louve Grise ne se souciait guère de cette société. Elle aurait
préféré être seule avec son compagnon et, plusieurs fois, elle tenta
de l’attirer à sa suite, dans la forêt. Mais, chez les animaux comme
chez les gens, l’orgueil est grand de dominer et ce n’était pas sans
plaisir que Kazan avait retrouvé son ancienne dignité et le temps
oublié où il commandait aux chiens de traîneau.
La température, cependant, s’adoucissait de plus en plus et la
chasse coutumière allait redevenir possible.
Kazan la reprit durant la nuit du quatrième jour et la conduisit
avec entrain, à la tête de la meute des quatre chiens. Pour la
première fois, il avait laissé derrière lui sa compagne aveugle.
Un jeune daim fut levé et forcé. Kazan lui sauta à la gorge et le
tua. Et pas avant qu’il ne se fût rassasié, les autres chiens ne se
permirent de goûter à la proie commune. Il était le maître, le tsar
tout-puissant, qui les faisait reculer par un simple grognement. Au
seul aspect de ses crocs, ils se couchaient tremblants, sur leur
ventre, dans la neige.
Louve Grise arriva, une demi-heure après, triste, les oreilles
pendantes et la tête basse. C’est à peine si elle goûta au daim. Ses
yeux aveugles semblaient supplier Kazan de ne pas l’abandonner,
de se séparer de ces intrus, pour revivre avec elle la solitude
passée.
Ses instances demeuraient sans force, car les trois quarts de
chien qui étaient dans Kazan faisaient qu’il ne lui déplaisait point de
se retrouver avec ces cousins consanguins, en société desquels il
avait si longtemps vécu. Il avait appris à haïr l’homme, non les
chiens. Une autre influence contre-balançait maintenant celle de
Louve Grise.
Deux semaines s’écoulèrent ainsi. Sous la chaleur croissante du
soleil, le thermomètre continuait à monter et la neige, sur le sol,
commençait à fondre. Bientôt Louve Grise sentit, pour la deuxième
fois, dans ses flancs une prochaine maternité.
Mais, en dépit de ses protestations, la petite troupe ne cessait de
faire route vers l’est et le sud. Kazan et les chiens savaient que
c’était de ce côté que se trouvait cette civilisation avec laquelle ils
souhaitaient de reprendre contact. L’homme était dans cette
direction. Et ils n’avaient pas vécu assez longtemps de la vie du Wild
pour que l’attirance du passé eût cessé complètement d’agir sur eux.
Les six bêtes arrivèrent ainsi à proximité d’un des Postes
avancés de la Baie d’Hudson. Comme elles trottaient sur une longue
crête, quelque chose les arrêta. C’était la voix perçante d’un homme,
qui criait ce mot bien connu des quatre chiens et de Kazan :
« Kouch ! Kouch ! Kouch ! » Au-dessous d’eux, en effet ils
aperçurent, dans la plaine découverte, un attelage de six chiens qui
tirait un traîneau. Un homme courait derrière, les excitant de ce cri
répété : « Kouch ! Kouch ! Kouch ! »
Les quatre huskies et le chien-loup demeuraient tremblants et
indécis, avec Louve Grise qui rampait derrière eux. Lorsque le
traîneau eut disparu, ils descendirent vers la piste qu’il avait laissée
et la reniflèrent brusquement, en grande agitation.
Pendant près d’un mille ils la suivirent, flanqués de Louve Grise,
qui prudemment, et inquiète d’une telle témérité, se tenait un peu au
large. L’odeur de l’homme la mettait en un inexprimable malaise et
seul son attachement à Kazan l’empêchait de s’enfuir au loin.
Puis Kazan s’arrêta et, à la grande joie de Louve Grise,
abandonna la piste. Le quart de loup qu’il avait en lui reprenait le
dessus et lui disait de se défier. Au signal qu’il en donna, toute la
compagnie regagna la plus proche forêt.
Partout la neige fondait et, avec le printemps, le Wilderness se
vidait de tous les hommes qui y avaient vécu durant l’hiver. Sur une
centaine de milles autour de la petite troupe, ce n’était que trappeurs
et chasseurs, qui s’en revenaient vers la Factorerie, en apportant
leur butin de fourrures. Leurs pistes multiples mettaient comme un
filet autour de la bande errante, qui avait fini par se rapprocher à une
trentaine de milles du Poste.
Et, tandis que la louve aveugle s’affolait, chaque jour davantage,
de la menace de l’homme, Kazan finissait par n’y plus pouvoir tenir
d’aller rejoindre ses anciens bourreaux.
Il saisissait dans l’air l’âcre odeur des feux de campements. Il
percevait, durant la nuit, des bribes de chansons sauvages, suivies
des glapissements et des abois de meutes de chiens. Tout près de
lui, il entendit un jour le rire d’un homme blanc et l’aboiement joyeux
de son attelage, auquel l’homme jetait la pâture quotidienne de
poissons séchés.
Mille par mille, inéluctablement, Kazan se rapprochait du Poste et
Louve Grise sentait approcher l’heure où l’appel final, plus fort que
les autres, lui enlèverait son compagnon.
Dans la succursale de la Compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson,
l’animation était grande. Jours de règlements de compte pour les
trappeurs, jours de bénéfices et jours de plaisirs. Jours où le Wild
apportait son trésor de fourrures, qui serait expédié ensuite vers
Londres et vers Paris, et vers les autres capitales de l’Europe.
Et il y avait, cette année-ci, dans le rassemblement de tous les
gens du Wild, un intérêt supplémentaire et plus palpitant que de
coutume. La Mort Rouge avait passé et maintenant seulement on
connaîtrait, en les voyant ou ne les voyant pas revenir, le nombre de
ceux qui avaient survécu ou trépassé.
Les Indiens Chippewayans et les métis du Sud arrivèrent les
premiers, avec leurs attelages de chiens hybrides, ramassés de long
des frontières du monde civilisé.
Après eux apparurent les chasseurs des terres stériles de
l’Ouest. Ils apportaient leurs charges de peaux de caribous et de
renards blancs, halées par une armée de hounds du Mackenzie, aux
grandes pattes et aux gros pieds, qui tiraient aussi dur que des
chevaux et qui se mettaient à piailler comme des roquets qu’on
fouette, lorsque les gros huskies et les chiens esquimaux leur
couraient sus. Les chiens du Labrador, farouches et terribles entre
tous, et que la mort seule pouvait vaincre, arrivaient des parages
septentrionaux de la Baie d’Hudson. Les malemutes de l’Athabasca
étaient énormes, avec une robe sombre, et les chiens esquimaux,
jaunes ou gris, étaient aussi prestes de leurs crocs que leurs petits
maîtres, noirauds et huileux, étaient agiles [30] .
[30] Les hounds, les chiens du Labrador, les chiens
esquimaux, les malemutes sont, comme les huskies,
autant de variétés de chiens de traîneaux.
Toutes ces meutes, à mesure qu’elles arrivaient, ne manquaient

pas de se jeter les unes sur les autres, grognant, aboyant, happant
et mordant. Il n’y avait pas de cesse dans la bataille des crocs.
Les combats commençaient à l’aube, avec les arrivées de
traîneaux au Poste, se continuaient toute la journée et, le soir, autour
des feux des campements. Ces antipathies canines n’avaient pas de
fin. Partout la neige fondante était maculée de sang.
Au cours de ces batailles diurnes et nocturnes, ceux qui
écopaient le plus étaient les chiens hybrides du Sud, issus et
mélangés de mâtins, de danois et de chiens de berger, et les
hounds, lourds et lents, du Mackenzie.
Lorsque la neige liquéfiée fut devenue complètement
impraticable aux traîneaux et qu’il n’y eut plus d’espoir de voir
apparaître aucun nouvel arrivant, William, l’agent de la Factorerie,
put établir la liste définitive des hommes qui manquaient. Il biffa leurs
comptes de ses registres, car il savait bien que, ceux-là, la Mort
Rouge les avait fauchés.
Une centaine de feux de campement élevaient leurs fumées
autour du Poste et, des tentes à ces feux, allaient et venaient sans
cesse les femmes et les enfants des chasseurs, qui, la plupart, les
avaient amenés avec eux.
Mais où ce remue-ménage fut surtout considérable, ce fut pour la
nuit du Grand Carnaval. Durant des semaines et des mois, hommes,
femmes et enfants, de la forêt et de la plaine, hommes blancs et
Peaux Rouges, jusqu’aux petits Esquimaux qui en rêvaient dans
leurs huttes glacées, avaient attendu cette heure joyeuse, cette folle
nuit de plaisir, qui allait redonner quelque attrait à la vie. C’était la
Compagnie qui offrait la fête à tous ceux qu’elle employait ou avec
qui elle commerçait.
Cette année plus que les autres, afin de dissiper les tristes
souvenirs de la Mort Rouge, l’agent s’était mis en frais.
Il avait fait tuer par ses chasseurs quatre gros caribous et, dans
la vaste clairière qui entourait la Factorerie, empiler d’énormes tas
de bûches sèches. Sur des fourches de sapin, hautes de dix pieds,
reposait, en guise de broche, un autre sapin, lisse et dépouillé de
son écorce. Il y avait quatre de ces broches et sur chacune d’elles
était enfilé un caribou tout entier, qui rôtissait au-dessus du feu.
Les flammes s’allumèrent à l’heure du crépuscule et l’agent lui-
même entonna le Chant du Caribou, célèbre dans tout le Northland :
Oh ! le caribou-ou-ou, le caribou-ou-ou
Il rôtit en l’air,
Haut sous le ciel clair,
Le gros et blanc caribou-ou-ou !
— A vous, maintenant ! hurla-t-il. A vous, et en chœur !
Et, se réveillant du long silence qui, si longtemps, avait pesé sur
eux dans le Wild, hommes, femmes et enfants entonnèrent le chant
à leur tour, avec une frénésie sauvage, qui éclata vers le ciel. En
même temps, se prenant par les mains, ils mettaient en branle,
autour des quatre broches enveloppées de flammes, la Grande
Ronde.
A plusieurs milles au sud et au nord, à l’est et à l’ouest, se
répercuta ce tonnerre formidable. Kazan et Louve Grise, et les
outlaws sans maîtres qui étaient avec eux, l’entendirent. Et bientôt
se mêlèrent aux voix humaines le hurlement lointain des chiens,
qu’excitait la sarabande infernale.
Les compagnons de Louve Grise et de Kazan ne tenaient pas en
place. Ils dressaient leurs oreilles dans la direction de l’immense
rumeur et gémissaient plaintivement.
Kazan n’était pas moins troublé. Il commença son manège
ordinaire avec Louve Grise, qui s’était reculée en montrant les dents,
et qu’il tentait d’entraîner à sa suite. Toujours, d’ailleurs, aussi
vainement.
Alors il revint vers les quatre huskies. A ce moment, une bouffée
de vent apporta plus distinct l’écho sonore du Carnaval du Wild et
ses ardentes résonances. Les quatre bêtes, oubliant l’autorité de
Kazan, ne résistèrent pas davantage à l’appel de l’homme. Baissant
la tête et les oreilles, et s’aplatissant sur le sol, elles filèrent comme
des ombres, dans la direction du bruit.
Le chien-loup hésitait encore. De plus en plus, il pressait Louve
Grise, tapie sous un buisson, de consentir à le suivre. Elle ne
broncha pas. Elle aurait, aux côtés de son compagnon, affronté
même le feu. Mais point l’homme.
La louve aveugle entendit sur les feuilles séchées un bruit rapide
de pattes qui s’éloignaient. L’instant d’après, elle savait que Kazan
était parti. Alors seulement, elle sortit de son buisson et se mit à
pleurnicher tout haut.
Kazan entendit sa plainte, mais ne se retourna pas. L’autre appel
était le plus fort. Les quatre huskies avaient sur lui une assez forte
avance et il tentait, en une course folle, de les rattraper.
Puis il se calma un peu, prit le trot et bientôt s’arrêta. A moins
d’un mille devant lui, il pouvait voir les flammes des grands feux qui
empourpraient les ténèbres et se reflétaient dans le ciel. Il regarda
derrière lui, comme s’il espérait que Louve Grise allait apparaître.
Après avoir attendu quelques minutes, il se remit en route.
Il ne tarda pas à rencontrer une piste nettement tracée. C’était
celle où l’un des quatre caribous, qui étaient en train de rôtir, avait
été traîné, quelques jours auparavant. Il la suivit et gagna les arbres
qui bordaient la vaste clairière où s’élevait la Factorerie.
La lueur des flammes était maintenant dans ses yeux. Devant lui,
la Grande Ronde se déroulait échevelée.
On aurait pu se croire dans une maison de fous. Le vacarme était
réellement satanique. Le chant en basse-taille des hommes, la voix
plus perçante des femmes et des enfants, les trépignements et les
éclats de rire de tous, le tout accompagné par les aboiements
déchaînés d’une centaine de chiens. Kazan en avait les oreilles
abasourdies. Mais il brûlait d’envie de se joindre au démoniaque
concert. Caché dans l’ombre d’un sapin, il refrénait encore son élan,
les narines dilatées vers le merveilleux arome des caribous qui
achevaient de rôtir. L’instinct de prudence du loup, que lui avait
inculqué Louve Grise, livrait en lui un dernier combat.
Tout à coup la ronde s’arrêta, le chant se tut. Les hommes, à
l’aide de longs pieux, décrochèrent des broches qui les portaient les
énormes corps des caribous, qu’ils déposèrent, tout ruisselants de
graisse, sur le sol.
Ce fut alors une ruée générale et joyeuse de tous les convives,
qui avaient mis au clair leurs coutelas ou leurs couteaux. Et, derrière
ce cercle, suivit celui des chiens, en une masse jappante et
grognante. Kazan, cette fois, n’y tint plus. Abandonnant son sapin, il
se précipita dans la clairière.
Comme il arrivait, rapide comme l’éclair, une douzaine d’hommes
de l’agent de la Factorerie, armés de longs fouets, avaient
commencé à faire reculer les bêtes. La lanière d’un des fouets
s’abattit, redoutable et coupante, sur l’épaule d’un chien d’Esquimau,
près duquel Kazan se trouvait justement. L’animal, furieux, lança un
coup de gueule vers le fouet, et ce fut Kazan que ses crocs
mordirent au croupion. Kazan rendit le coup et, en une seconde, les
mâchoires des deux chiens béaient l’une vers l’autre. La seconde
d’après, le chien Esquimau était par terre, avec Kazan qui le tenait à
la gorge.
Les hommes se précipitèrent, pestant et jurant. Leurs fouets
claquèrent, et s’abattirent comme des couteaux. Kazan, qui était sur
son adversaire, sentit la douleur cuisante. Alors remonta soudain en
lui le souvenir cruel des jours passés, qui avaient fait de l’homme
son tyran. Il gronda et, lentement, desserra son emprise.
Comme il relevait la tête, il vit un autre homme qui surgissait de
la mêlée — car, animés par l’exemple, tous les autres chiens
s’étaient rués les uns contre les autres — et cet homme tenait à la
main un gourdin !
Le gourdin s’abattit sur son dos et la force du coup l’envoya
s’aplatir sur le sol. Puis le gourdin se leva à nouveau. Derrière
l’énorme bâton était une face rude et féroce, éclairée par les reflets
rouges des feux. C’était une telle face qui avait jadis poussé Kazan
vers le Wild. Comme le gourdin s’abaissait, il fit un écart brusque
pour l’éviter, et les couteaux d’ivoire de ses dents brillèrent.
Pour la troisième fois, le gourdin se leva. Kazan, bondissant,
happa l’avant-bras de l’homme qui le portait et lacéra la chair jusqu’à
la main.
— Tonnerre de Dieu ! hurla l’homme.
Et Kazan perçut dans la nuit la lueur d’un canon de fusil.
Mais il détalait déjà vers la forêt. Un coup de feu retentit. Quelque
chose qui ressemblait à un charbon rouge frôla le flanc du fuyard.
Lorsqu’il fut assez loin pour être certain de n’être point poursuivi,
le chien-loup s’arrêta de courir et lécha le sillon brûlant que la balle
avait tracé, roussissant le poil et emportant un lambeau de peau.
Il retrouva Louve Grise qui l’attendait toujours à la même place.
Toute joyeuse, elle bondit à sa rencontre. Une fois de plus, l’homme
lui avait renvoyé son compagnon.
XIX
UN FILS DE KAZAN
Épaule contre épaule, les deux bêtes repartirent dans la direction

du nord-ouest, tandis que s’éteignait derrière eux la grande rumeur.
Étape par étape, elles s’en revinrent, au bout de plusieurs jours,
au marais où elles avaient gîté durant la famine et avant la rencontre
des chiens sauvages.
Alors le sol était gelé et enseveli sous la neige. Aujourd’hui le
soleil brillait au ciel tiède, dans toute la gloire du printemps. Partout
la glace achevait de se craqueler et de s’effriter, la neige de fondre,
et une multitude d’eaux torrentueuses coulaient sur le sol. Partout le
dégel et la mort de l’hiver se faisaient sentir, parmi les roches qui
reparaissaient comme parmi les arbres, et la magnifique et froide
clarté de l’aurore boréale, qui avait illuminé tant de nuits passées,
avait reculé plus loin, plus loin encore vers le Pôle, sa gloire
pâlissante.
Les peupliers gonflaient leurs bourgeons, prêts à éclater, et l’air
s’imprégnait du parfum pénétrant des baumiers, des sapins et des
cèdres. Là où, six semaines auparavant, régnaient la famine et la
mort, Kazan et Louve Grise respiraient à pleines narines l’odeur de
la terre et écoutaient palpiter tous les bruits de la vie renouvelée.
Au dessus de leurs têtes, un couple d’oiseaux-des-élans [31]
nouvellement appariés, voletait et criaillait à leur adresse. Un gros
geai lissait ses plumes au soleil. Plus loin, ils entendirent un lourd
sabot qui faisait craquer sous son poids les brindilles dont le sol était
jonché. Ils perçurent aussi l’odeur d’une mère-ours, qui était fort
occupée à tirer vers le sol les branches d’un peuplier et leurs
bourgeons, dont se délectaient ses oursons. Partout s’exhalait de la
nature le mystère amoureux et celui de la maternité. Et Louve Grise
ne cessait de frotter sa tête aveugle contre celle de Kazan. Elle
n’était pour lui que caresses et invites à se recroqueviller tout contre
elle, dans un nid bien chaud.
[31] L’oiseau-des-élans, moose-bird. Ces oiseaux ont
l’habitude de venir se poser sur le dos des élans, qu’ils
débarrassent de leurs parasites, comme font chez nous
les sansonnets avec les bœufs et les moutons.
Elle n’éprouvait nul désir de chasser. L’odeur d’un caribou, ni

celle de la mère-ours, n’éveillaient plus en elle aucun instinct
combatif. Son ventre s’était alourdi de nouveau et elle s’ingéniait en
vain à dire cela à son compagnon.
Ils arrivèrent tous deux en face de l’arbre creux qui avait été leur
ancien gîte. Kazan le reconnut aussitôt et Louve Grise le sentit.
Le sol, légèrement exhaussé, n’avait point été, ici, envahi par
l’eau provenant de la fonte des neiges et qui mettait son miroir dans
mainte partie du marais. Mais un petit torrent encerclait le bas de
l’arbre et l’isolait complètement.
Tandis que Louve Grise dressait l’oreille au clapotis des eaux,
Kazan cherchait, à droite et à gauche, un gué qu’il fût loisible de
traverser. Il n’en trouva point, mais un gros cèdre qui était tombé en
travers du torrent et formait pont. Il s’y engagea et, après quelques
hésitations, Louve Grise le suivit.
Ils parvinrent ainsi à leur ancienne retraite. Ils en flairèrent, avec
prudence, l’ouverture et, comme rien ne leur apparut d’anormal, ils
se décidèrent à entrer. Lasse et haletante, Louve Grise se laissa
choir par terre aussitôt, dans le recoin le plus obscur du nid retrouvé,
et Kazan vint vers elle, pour lui lécher la tête en signe de
satisfaction. Après quoi, il se prépara à sortir, afin de s’en aller un
peu à la découverte.
Comme il était sur le seuil de son home, l’odeur d’une chose
vivante vint tout à coup jusqu’à lui. Il se raidit sur ses pattes et ses
poils se hérissèrent.
Deux minutes ne s’étaient point écoulées qu’un caquetage, pareil
à celui d’un enfant, se fit entendre et un porc-épic apparut. Lui aussi
cherchait un gîte et, les yeux au sol, sans regarder devant lui, s’en
venait droit vers l’arbre.
Kazan n’ignorait pas que le porc-épic, lorsqu’on ne s’attaque
point à lui, est la bête la plus inoffensive qu’il y ait. Il ne réfléchit point
qu’un simple grognement issu de son gosier suffirait à faire
s’éloigner, vite et docilement, cette créature débonnaire, babillarde et
piaillarde, qui sans cesse monologue avec elle-même. Il ne vit là
qu’un fâcheux, qui venait l’importuner, lui et Louve Grise. Bref,
l’humeur du moment fit qu’il bondit inconsidérément sur le porc-épic.
Un crescendo de piaillements, de pleurnichements et de cris de
cochon, auquel répondit une gamme forcenée de hurlements, fut le
résultat de cette attaque.
Louve Grise se précipita hors de son arbre, tandis que le porc-
épic s’était rapidement enroulé en une boule hérissée de piquants et
que Kazan, à quelques pieds de là, se démenait follement, en proie
aux affres les plus cuisantes que puisse connaître un hôte du Wild.
Sa gueule et son museau étaient semblables à une pelote
d’épingles. Il se roulait sur le sol, creusant dans l’humus un grand
trou, et lançant des coups de griffes, à tort et à travers, aux dards qui
lui perçaient la chair. Puis, comme l’avait fait le lynx sur la bande de
sable, comme le font tous les animaux qui ont pris contact de trop
près avec l’ami porc-épic, il se releva soudain et se mit à courir tout
autour de l’îlot, hurlant à chacun de ses bonds désordonnés.
La louve aveugle devinait sans peine ce qui se passait. Elle ne
s’en affolait point outre mesure et peut-être — qui sait quelles idées
peuvent germer dans le cerveau des animaux ? — s’amusait-elle
intérieurement de la mésaventure advenue à son imprudent
compagnon, dont elle entendait et se figurait les gambades
grotesques.
Comme, au demeurant, elle n’y pouvait rien, elle s’assit sur son
derrière et attendit, dressant seulement les oreilles et s’écartant un
peu, chaque fois que dans sa ronde démente Kazan passait trop
près d’elle.
Le porc-épic, durant ce temps, satisfait du succès de sa
manœuvre défensive, s’était précautionneusement déroulé, avait
replié ses piquants et, tout en se dandinant, avait silencieusement
gagné un peuplier voisin, qu’il escalada prestement, en s’y
accrochant des griffes. Après quoi il se mit à grignoter, fort tranquille,
la tendre écorce d’une petite branche.
Après un certain nombre de tours, Kazan se décida à s’arrêter
devant Louve Grise. La douleur occasionnée chez lui par les
terribles aiguilles avait perdu de son acuité. Mais elle laissait dans sa
chair l’impression d’une brûlure profonde et continue.
Louve Grise s’avança vers lui, s’en approcha tout près, et le tâta
du museau et de la langue, avec prudence. Puis elle saisit
délicatement entre ses dents deux ou trois piquants, qu’elle arracha.
Kazan poussa un petit glapissement satisfait et Louve Grise
renouvela la même opération avec un second bouquet de piquants.
Alors, confiant, il s’aplatit sur le ventre, les pattes de devant
étendues, ferma les yeux et, sans plus gémir, jetant seulement de
temps à autre, un yip plaintif, lorsque la douleur était trop vive, il
s’abandonna aux soins habiles de son infirmière.
Son pauvre museau fut bientôt rouge de sang. Une heure durant,
Louve Grise, en dépit de sa cécité, s’appliqua à sa tâche et, au bout
de ce temps, elle avait réussi à extirper la plupart des dards maudits.
Seuls quelques-uns demeuraient, qui étaient trop courts ou enfoncés
trop profondément pour que ses dents pussent les saisir.
Kazan descendit alors vers le petit torrent et trempa dans l’eau
glacée son museau brûlant. Ce lui fut un soulagement, momentané
seulement. Car les piquants qui étaient restés dans la chair vive ne
tardèrent pas à produire, dans son museau et dans ses lèvres, une
inflammation qui ne faisait qu’augmenter à mesure qu’ils déchiraient
davantage les tissus, où ils pénétraient comme une chose vivante.
Lèvres et museau se mirent à enfler. Kazan bavait une salive
mêlée de sang et ses yeux s’empourpraient. Deux heures après que
Louve Grise, ayant terminé sa tâche, était rentrée dans son gîte et
s’y était recouchée, l’infortuné en était toujours au même point.
Il se jeta, de male rage, sur un morceau de bois qu’il rencontra,
et y mordit furieusement. Il sentit se casser un des dards qui le
faisaient le plus souffrir, et il réitéra.
La Nature lui avait indiqué le seul remède qui fût à sa portée et
qui consistait à mâcher avec force de la terre et des bouts de bois.
Dans cette trituration, la pointe des dards s’émoussait et les dards
eux-mêmes se brisaient. Finalement, la pression exercée sur eux les
faisait jaillir de la chair, comme une écharde que l’on repousse du
doigt.
Au crépuscule, Kazan était entièrement libéré et il s’en alla
rejoindre Louve Grise au creux de l’arbre. Mais, plusieurs fois durant
la nuit, il dut encore se relever et s’en aller au petit torrent, afin de
calmer la cuisson inapaisée.
Le lendemain, il n’était point joli, joli, et son mufle avait ce que les
gens du Wild appellent « la grimace du porc-épic ». La gueule était
enflée au point que Louve Grise s’en fût tordue de rire, si elle n’eût
point été aveugle et si elle eût été un être humain. Les lèvres étaient,
le long des mâchoires, boursouflées comme des coussins. Les yeux
n’étaient plus que deux fentes étroites, au milieu d’une fluxion
générale de la face.
Lorsque Kazan sortit de l’arbre et vint au jour, il ne pouvait guère
mieux voir que sa compagne aveugle. La douleur, du moins, s’en
était allée en grande partie. La nuit suivante, il put songer à chasser
de nouveau et revint, avant l’aube, avec un lapin.
La chasse aurait pu être plus fructueuse et s’augmenter d’une
perdrix de sapins si, au moment même où Kazan allait bondir vers
l’oiseau posé sur le sol, il n’avait entendu le doux caquetage d’un
porc-épic.
Il en fut cloué sur place. Il n’était point facile à effrayer. Mais le
piaillement incohérent et vide de la bestiole aux dards cruels suffit à
le terrifier et à le faire déguerpir au loin, quelques instants après, au
pas accéléré, la queue entre les pattes.
Avec la même invincible appréhension que l’homme éprouve
pour le serpent, Kazan devait éviter toujours, désormais, cette
créature du Wild, si bon enfant, qu’on n’a jamais vue, dans l’histoire
animale, perdre sa jacassante gaieté ni chercher noise à quiconque.
Deux semaines durant, après l’aventure de Kazan et du porc-
épic, les jours continuèrent à croître, le soleil à augmenter sa
chaleur. Les dernières neiges achevèrent de rapidement disparaître.
Partout éclataient les bourgeons des peupliers, où apparaissaient
les pousses vertes, et étincelaient les feuilles cramoisies de la vigne
rouge. Sur les pentes les plus ensoleillées, parmi les rochers, les
petits perce-neige ouvraient leurs corolles, annonce décisive que le
printemps était venu.
Pendant la première semaine, Louve Grise chassa plus d’une
fois avec Kazan. Ils n’avaient pas besoin d’aller loin. Le marais
fourmillait de petit gibier et, chaque jour ou chaque nuit, ils tuaient de
la viande fraîche.
Au cours de la seconde semaine, Louve Grise chassa moins.
Puis vint une nuit, une nuit embaumée, magnifique et douce sous les
rayons de la pleine lune printanière, où elle se refusa à quitter le
creux de l’arbre.
Kazan ne l’y incita point. L’instinct lui faisait comprendre qu’un
événement nouveau se préparait. Il partit pour la chasse, sans trop
s’éloigner, et rapporta bientôt un lapin blanc.
Quelques jours s’écoulèrent encore et une autre nuit arriva où,
dans le recoin le plus obscur de sa retraite, Louve Grise salua d’un
grognement étouffé Kazan qui rentrait. Il demeura sur le seuil de
l’arbre, avec un lapin qu’il tenait dans sa gueule, et n’entra point.
Au bout de quelques instants, il laissa tomber le lapin, les yeux
fixés sur l’obscurité où gisait Louve Grise. Finalement, il se coucha
en travers, devant l’entrée de la tanière. Puis, tout agité, il se remit
sur ses pattes et s’en alla.
Il ne revint qu’avec le jour. Comme jadis sur le Sun Rock, il
renifla, renifla. Ce qui flottait dans l’air n’était plus pour lui une
énigme. Il s’approcha de Louve Grise et elle ne grogna pas. Il la
flaira et caressa, tandis qu’elle gémissait doucement. Puis son
museau découvrit quelque chose d’autre, qui respirait faiblement.
Kazan, ce jour-là, ne repartit point en chasse. Il s’étendit
voluptueusement au soleil, la tête pendante et les mâchoires
ouvertes, en signe de la grande satisfaction qui était en lui.
XX
L’ÉDUCATION DE BARI
Frustrés une première fois des joies de la famille par le drame du

Sun Rock, Kazan et Louve Grise n’avaient pas oublié la tragique
aventure.
Au moindre bruit, Louve Grise tressaillait et tremblait, prête à
bondir sur l’invisible ennemi qui se présenterait et à déchirer toute
chair qui n’était pas celle de Kazan et de son petit.
Kazan n’était pas moins inquiet et alerté. Sans cesse il sautait
sur ses pattes et épiait autour de lui. Il se défiait des ombres
mouvantes, que promène le vent sous le soleil ou sous la lune. Le
craquement d’une branche, le frémissement de la moindre brindille
faisaient se retrousser ses lèvres sur ses crocs. Il menaçait et
grondait vers la douceur de l’air, chaque fois qu’une odeur étrangère
arrivait à ses narines.
Pas un seul instant, ni jour, ni nuit, il ne se distrayait de sa garde.
Aussi sûrement que l’on s’attend, chaque matin, à voir se lever le
soleil, il s’attendait à voir, un jour ou l’autre, tôt ou tard, apparaître,
en bondissant ou en rampant, leur mortel ennemi. C’était en une
heure pareille que le lynx avait amené avec lui la cécité et la mort.
Mais la paix avait étendu sur le marais ses ailes de soleil. Il n’y
avait, autour de Kazan et de Louve Grise, d’autres étrangers que le
silencieux whiskey-jack [32] , les oiseaux-des-élans, aux yeux ronds,
les moineaux babillards dans les buissons, les gentilles souris des
bois et les petites hermines.
[32] Sorte de geai, aux gros yeux, du Northland.
Kazan finit par se rassurer. Délaissant de temps à autre sa

faction, il s’en allait, dans l’ombre, flairer son fils, l’unique louveteau
que Louve Grise avait engendré.
Ce louveteau, si les Indiens Dog Ribs [33] , qui habitent un peu
plus vers l’ouest, avaient eu à lui donner un nom, ils l’auraient sans
aucun doute appelé Baree (Bari), qui dans leur langage signifie à la
fois « sans frère ni sœur » et « chien-loup », deux choses qu’il était
effectivement.
[33] Dog Ribs ou Côtes-de-Chiens.
Ce fut, dès le début, un petit bonhomme doux et vif, à qui sa

mère prodigua tous les soins dont elle était capable. Il se développa
avec la rapidité précoce d’un loup, et non avec la lenteur coutumière
aux petits chiens.
Pendant les trois premiers jours, il ne fit rien d’autre que de se
tasser, le plus près possible, contre le ventre de sa mère. Il tétait
quand il avait faim, dormait tout son saoul, et la langue affectueuse
de Louve Grise n’arrêtait pas de le peigner et nettoyer.
Le quatrième jour, sa curiosité commença à s’éveiller. Avec
d’énormes efforts, et s’agrippant des griffes au poil de Louve Grise, il
se hissa jusqu’à la gueule de sa mère. Puis il risqua de s’éloigner
d’elle, se traîna à quelques pieds de distance, en chavirant sur ses
pattes molles, et, une fois là, se mit à renifler désespérément, en se
croyant à tout jamais perdu.
Il connut ensuite que Kazan était comme une partie de Louve
Grise. Huit jours ne s’étaient pas écoulés qu’il venait, avec
satisfaction, se mettre en boule entre les pattes de devant de son
père et s’y endormir paisiblement.
La première fois où il agit ainsi, Kazan parut fort interloqué. Il ne
remua pas, d’une demi-heure, et Louve Grise vint, tout heureuse,
lécher le petit fuyard.
A dix jours, Bari découvrit la notion du jeu et que c’était un sport
sans pareil de tirer après lui un débris de peau de lapin.
Tout ceci se passait encore dans le home obscur du creux de
l’arbre. Jusqu’au moment où le louveteau apprit à connaître ce
qu’étaient la lumière et le soleil.
Ce fut par une belle après-midi. Par un trou qui était percé dans
l’écorce de l’arbre, un rayon resplendissant se fraya son chemin et
vint tomber sur le sol, à côté de Bari. Bari commença par fixer, avec
étonnement, la traînée d’or. Puis, bientôt, il s’essaya à jouer avec
elle, comme il avait fait avec la peau de lapin. Il ne comprit pas
pourquoi il ne pouvait point s’en saisir ; mais, dès lors, il connut ce
qu’étaient la lumière et le soleil.
Les jours suivants, il alla vers l’ouverture de la tanière, où il voyait
luire cette même clarté, et, les yeux éblouis et clignotants, se
coucha, apeuré, sur le seuil du vaste monde qu’il avait devant lui.
Louve Grise qui, durant tout ce temps, l’avait observé, cessa dès
lors de le retenir dans l’arbre. Elle même s’alla coucher au soleil et
appela son fils vers elle. Les faibles yeux du louveteau
s’accoutumèrent peu à peu à la clarté solaire, que Bari apprit à
aimer. Il aima la tiédeur de l’air, la douceur de la vie, et n’eut plus
que répulsion pour les obscures ténèbres de l’antre où il était né.
Il ne tarda pas non plus à connaître que tout dans l’univers,
n’était pas doux et bon. Un jour où un orage menaçait et où Bari
rôdait, insouciant, sur l’îlot, Louve Grise le rappela vers elle et vers
l’abri protecteur de l’arbre. Le louveteau, qui ne comprenait point ce
que signifiait cet appel, fit la sourde oreille. Mais la Nature se
chargea de le lui apprendre, à ses dépens. Un effroyable déluge de
pluie s’abattit soudain sur lui, à la lueur aveuglante des éclairs et au
fracas du tonnerre. Littéralement terrorisé, il s’aplatit sur le sol, et fut
trempé jusqu’aux os, et presque noyé, avant que Louve Grise
n’arrivât pour le saisir dans ses mâchoires et l’emporter au bercail.

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Historical Turning Points in Spanish

Economic Growth and Development,

Historical Turning Points in

More information about this series at

ISSN 2662-6497 ISSN 2662-6500 (electronic)

Cover illustration: Peter Barritt / Alamy Stock Photo

This book is the result of the collaboration among a group of economic

2 1808: The Napoleonic Wars and the Loss of the American

3 1898: The “Fin de Siècle” Crisis 53

4 1936. Frustrated Hopes: The Great Depression,

5 1959: The Stabilization Plan and the End of Autarky123

6 1977: Hopes Fulfilled—Building Democracy in Turbulent

7 2008: Spain in the Eye of the Perfect Storm195

Concha Betrán is a professor in the Economic Analysis Department at

Francisco Comín is professor of Economic History at the University of

Jose Ignacio Conde-Ruiz is a professor at Universidad Complutense de

Joaquim Cuevas is an associate professor in the Economic Analysis

including banking and monetary history, industrial and regional

Inés Roldán de Montaud is a researcher in the CSIC, Instituto de

Pablo Martín-Aceña is a professor in the Economic Department at the

Elena Martínez-Ruiz is a professor in the Department of Economics at

María A. Pons is an associate professor in the Economic Analysis

C. Betrán (*) • M. A. Pons

© The Author(s) 2020 1

policy (openness or protectionism), the role of the State and distributive

Chapter 3 is about the 1898 turning point and is written by Pablo

ones, threatened the ability to resolve these problems. The connection

Sp Germany France UK Italy US

2.1 1808 as a Turning Point

© The Author(s) 2020 15

growth than in the eighteenth century. However, growth remained below

on the structural reforms of the liberal revolution. Section 2.4 examines

2.2  he Immediate Effects of the Napoleonic

and 1876 can thus be interpreted as an unresolved civil war started by

Spain, contributing to a backward economy and social conflicts. Since

State used their government bonds to purchase disentailed municipal

privatized, due to the liberals’ opposition to State-owned companies.

municipalities charged new taxes on factories and productive activities.7

2.3  he Legislative Impact: The Liberal

law, national sovereignty, personal freedoms and electoral processes. Both

no longer revolutionary. As elsewhere in Europe, from the 1840s on it

disentailment approved in 1855 by Pascual Madoz privatized the lands of

population in 1870), which contributed to the fact that Spain’s Human

Democratic Sexennial14 are issues that have been proposed as explanatory

2.4 L ong-Term Economic Effects: Economic

incomplete. Historians attribute the failure of the industrial revolution to

Durant trois jours et trois nuits, Kazan et Louve Grise vécurent

Toutes ces meutes, à mesure qu’elles arrivaient, ne manquaient

Épaule contre épaule, les deux bêtes repartirent dans la direction

Elle n’éprouvait nul désir de chasser. L’odeur d’un caribou, ni

Frustrés une première fois des joies de la famille par le drame du

Kazan finit par se rassurer. Délaissant de temps à autre sa

Ce fut, dès le début, un petit bonhomme doux et vif, à qui sa

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2 1808: The Napoleonic Wars and the Loss of the American

3 1898: The “Fin de Siècle” Crisis 53

4 1936. Frustrated Hopes: The Great Depression,

5 1959: The Stabilization Plan and the End of Autarky123

6 1977: Hopes Fulfilled—Building Democracy in Turbulent

7 2008: Spain in the Eye of the Perfect Storm195

2.1 1808 as a Turning Point

2.2 he Immediate Effects of the Napoleonic

2.3 he Legislative Impact: The Liberal

2.4 L ong-Term Economic Effects: Economic